Colorful Sky
by emjwarriorcatz
Summary: The end of the Clans as we know it has come, much unexpectedly during a greenleaf several moons after The Last Hope ends. Will the four lake Clans reunite with SkyClan and find a new home? Or are they doomed to perish?
1. Allegiances and Prologue

**Here is my third main story I'll be posting for now! It is about the end of the five current Clans, and the beginning of my fictional Clans, RedClan, YellowClan, GreenClan, BlueClan, and BlackClan. Enjoy~**

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**ALLEGIANCES**

**SKYCLAN**

**LEADER: TREESTAR- **frail brown tabby tom

**DEPUTY: SNAKESTRIPE- **big tabby tom

**APPRENTICE, HAWKPAW**

**MEDICINE CAT: FRECKLEWISH- **old white she-cat with tiny black spots

**WARRIORS: MISTYBREEZE- **silver she-cat with blue eyes

**APPRENTICE, RAINPAW**

**MOSSFOOT- **brown tabby she-cat with green eyes and spotted paws

**FIREFLOWER- **fierce ginger she-cat

**FOXSNARL- **russet tom

**REDFUR- **red tom with amber eyes

**APPRENTICES: RAINPAW- **lightly dappled gray she-cat

**HAWKPAW- **brown tabby tom with piercing amber eyes

**QUEENS: SPECKLECLOUD- **speckled brown she-cat

**BRIGHTFROST- **white she-cat (expecting Foxsnarl's kits)

**ELDERS: CHERRYTAIL- **tortoiseshell she-cat

**WINDCLAN**

**LEADER: IVYSTAR- **light gray tabby tom

**DEPUTY: REEDSTRIPE- **faintly striped russet tom

**MEDICINE CAT: BRINDLEFUR- **brown tabby tom

**WARRIORS: LIGHTNINGFLIGHT- **slim gray tom with blue eyes

**FLAMESTRIPE- **ginger-striped tom

**APPRENTICE, NETTLEPAW**

**ROSELEAF- **mottled cream she-cat

**ADDERTOOTH- **strong tabby tom with amber eyes

**YELLOWGLINT- **yellow she-cat with yellow eyes

**APPRENTICES: NETTLEPAW- **gray tom

**QUEENS: ASHCLOUD- **smoky-gray she-cat (mother to Oakkit, Dawnkit, and Eaglekit)

**ELDERS: PALEMIST- **white tom

**LITTLEFLOWER- **small tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

**THUNDERCLAN**

**LEADER: DOVESTAR- **creamy white she-cat with blue eyes

**APPRENTICE, CLOUDPAW**

**DEPUTY: OTTERPELT- **sleek brown tom

**MEDICINE CAT: JAYWING- **tan she-cat with blue eyes

**WARRIORS: STORMCLAW- **strong gray tom

**MUDSTRIPE- **dark brown tabby tom

**TUMBLEFOOT- **tortoiseshell-and-white tom

**APPRENTICE, ICEPAW**

**RAGGEDWING- **longhaired dark brown, almost black, tom with a battered look about him

**APPRENTICE, GRAYPAW**

**GREENEYES- **brown tabby tom with startling green eyes

**APPRENTICES: ICEPAW- **delicate white she-cat

** GRAYPAW- **large gray tom

** CLOUDPAW- ** silver she-cat with white chest

**QUEENS: LEAFPELT- **tortoiseshell she-cat (mother to Frostkit and Nightkit)

**ELDERS: BRIARCLAW- **once-pretty golden tabby she-cat

**RIVERCLAN**

**LEADER: LIGHTSTAR- **golden tabby tom with green eyes

**DEPUTY: SILVERFIRE- **silver tabby she-cat

**MEDICINE CAT: BEETLEWING- **brown tom

**WARRIORS: STONEDUST- **gray-brown tom

**GINGERGAZE- **ginger she-cat

**THORNEAR- **brown tabby tom with one missing ear

**AMBERLEAF- **brown she-cat

**BLUEPELT- **blue-furred she-cat with blue eyes

**APPRENTICE, STREAMPAW**

**APPRENTICES: STREAMPAW- **silver tabby she-cat

**QUEENS: JUMPINGSPIRIT- **gray tabby she-cat

**ELDERS: DUCKFOOT- **brown tabby tom with large paws

**SHADOWCLAN**

**LEADER: SLASHSTAR- **dark brown tabby tom with green eyes

**DEPUTY: STRIPEPELT- **dark gray tom with black stripe down back

**MEDICINE CAT: TALLPINE- **black she-cat

**APPRENTICE, STALKINGPAW**

**WARRIORS: SPICEFEATHER- **dark ginger she-cat

**SCARLETBLOOD- **black tom

**APPRENTICE, BIRDPAW**

**BEESTING- **black-and-ginger tom

**DULLNOSE- **gray tom with dark gray nose

**BLACKFANG- **black tom with white muzzle and odd gray eyes

**APPRENTICES: STALKINGPAW- **brown tom, medicine cat apprentice

**BIRDPAW- **tabby tom

**QUEENS: TABBYSTRIPE- **tabby she-cat

**PRICKLEPELT- **prickly brown she-cat

**ELDERS: MARSHPAD- **gray tom

**CATS OUTSIDE CLANS**

**CEASAR- **light tabby tom

**SNOWFLAKE- **pure white she-cat

**CINDER- **dark gray tom

**TAMMY- **light brown she-cat

**KIT- **ginger tabby she-cat

**DICE- **black tom

**WHITE- **white she-cat

**PROLOGUE**

"It's not much longer now, is it?" A grim voice, tinged with regret and worry, bounced off the surrounding stone walls of the barren clearing.

A circle of cats sat in the center, a barrage of murmurs and whispers bubbling from the group of fur, tooth, and claw. But suddenly, all was silent as gazes ranging from mild pine green to sharp cobalt blue turned to Firestar.

"Soon all the Clans will be gone," the flame-colored ginger tom meowed, voice cracking. "And there's nothing we can do about it."

A shaggy gray she-cat, scars crisscrossing over her pelt, stepped forward and bared her browned fangs at the former ThunderClan leader. "StarClan can't control everything, Firestar," she rasped, tail lashing as she spoke. "We can't make the prey come back. We can't change what has already happened."

Firestar's green eyes flashed in the direction of the elderly medicine cat. "Clearly, Yellowfang," he growled. "But we should have sent an omen, or… or something."

"You're not an amateur member of StarClan," Yellowfang replied hotly, sitting back down on her haunches. "We've all been dead for seasons, and we all should know what the right thing to do is. And I say to let the Clans deal with it themselves."

The ginger tom parted his lips to speak again, but was cut off by a massive white tom with jet-black, six-toed paws. "ShadowClan has an opinion as well," Blackstar said, his gruff voice overpowering any last mutters from the other felines gathered.

"Well, what is it?" Yellowfang demanded, eyes narrowed as she eyed the ancient leader of her birth Clan.

"When we found this lake, I believed that it was where the Clans would reside for so many moons to come." Blackstar paused and glanced down at a few old ShadowClan deputies and medicine cats he had been talking with. "And we all agree that's how it should have been. However, there is an answer to all these issues we and the living cats below have been fussing over for moons."

"You don't mean…" A gray she-cat, pelt thick and shiny from a diet of fish, leaned forward beside her mother, who had her eyes wide.

"If you're thinking what I'm thinking, Mistystar and Bluestar, then yes, we think the Clans should move again."

A black and white tom as well as a brown tabby exchanged worried glances. "A third Great Journey?" Tallstar and Onestar practically yowled at the same time.

Yellowfang's ears flattened. "This idea has danger scrawled all over it. These cats are half-starved, Blackstar. Are you really insane enough to think that sending them on a moon's length or longer journey to some new place that's supposed to pop up and appear perfect?"

Blackstar embedded his talon-like claws in the soft earth and pulled, creating deep gashes. "Then I do hope you have another plan, because otherwise we are out."

Gradually each pair of eyes fell on Yellowfang, who shrunk back like a turtle in its shell. She sniffed, flattened muzzle twitching for a few moments before her eyes lit up much in resemblance to an excited kit at his apprentice ceremony. "I have a slight edit to your plan," she announced, hesitating to allow a few gasps to touch the air before going on. "The cats will travel- to SkyClan."

"Preposterous!" Littlecloud leaped to his paws, flexing his claws as though he were about to pounce on Yellowfang that very moment. "They don't even know that another Clan exists far away."

"Yes; we only learned about it ourselves upon our deaths," Tallstar added, face twisted as he thought. "But then again, it's not an unreasonable idea." His milky yellow eyes raked over all the WindClan cats behind him and Onestar. Each feline nodded once, a simple, stout, jerk of the head. "It appears WindClan agrees with this plan."

"Go Yellowfang!" a tiny kit squealed at the back of the crowd.

Over a bit of time, each Clan approved of Yellowfang's idea. Soon she and Firestar shuffled to the heart of the circle, turning slowly to meet each cat's gaze, to make sure they understood. "Then it is so," Yellowfang whispered. With one glance at Firestar, the younger tom knew what to do.

"SkyClan will again be reunited with the other four Clans, and together they shall find a new home."

Yellowfang's eyes glistened. "Us too."

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**You shall learn more about the cats in the allegiances by the next chapter!**


	2. The Red Sky

**Well, here is the first chapter for ya'll! Tell me what you think after you're done- even just one word means a lot.**

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It had been far too long since Redfur had been able to enjoy a good meal, or any meal, for that matter. He spent all his time hunting for the queens and elders of SkyClan, as if there were any cats left at all to hunt for. Pain pricked at the ginger warrior's heart as he thought of all the lives ripped away from hunger or sickness.

He ventured deeper into the forest with his patrol, consisting of only two other cats, just as thin and bony as him. Treetops towering high over the cats' heads provided a canopy of shade for Redfur and his Clanmates as compared to the hot rocks in the gorge, but the forest was plagued with sickness.

It all started three moons ago when Specklecloud and her two kits shared a small mouse. Unbeknownst to them and the patrol that brought it back for trio, the rodent was the first of countless fresh-kill to contain a nasty disease that could easily kill a cat without the right treatment. Soon one kit, then the other vomited up their meal and Specklecloud took them to the medicine den only to throw up herself. Now, three moons later, so many cats had died that Redfur felt he'd lost count.

Each little hunk of food had to be thoroughly examined by Frecklewish, their elderly spotted medicine cat still without an apprentice. Even Frecklewish didn't exactly know how to tell if the prey was infected- it was all about the smell deep within that a warrior wouldn't normally pick up while eating it. Because most of the prey had been denied of being edible, the remaining SkyClan warriors were thinner than twigs and terribly hungry, but they only hunted for the weakest of the Clan rather than themselves. Redfur had already been on three other patrols that day. Hunting went non-stop through the days, and often the only fresh-kill that could be salvaged to eat from the rest was just one small squirrel, from which Redfur and other warriors got the scraps of.

Stomach gurgling like a growling rogue, Redfur crept through the woods, ears pricked, tail low, and paws light on the leafy ground.

Just then, a tiny vole scuttled into view. It couldn't be any older than a few moons, it was so small, but it would be worth bringing back for Frecklewish to examine. It could feed an elder or two if they took… three bites each, as Redfur estimated to himself.

The russet-furred tom crouched down, feeling his limbs ache with longing to climb a tree. Unfortunately, they hadn't been satisfied with that lately as there hadn't been a squirrel for a little over a quarter-moon. Squirrels were definitely SkyClan's favorite prey to eat, just like how fish went with RiverClan and WindClan relished the taste of rabbit.

Redfur paused mid-step and wondered how the other Clans were doing. As a kit, he had been told by his mother- now dead, thanks to the poisoned 'kill- that there were four other Clans living in a forest home far away from the gorge. They had long ago chased out SkyClan after their territory was destroyed by Twolegs. The leader at the time, Cloudstar, had led his Clan far away from that place, leaving behind his mate and two young kits with ThunderClan who weren't yet fit to travel so that he could bring his Clan to safety. They sheltered in the gorge, but soon dissipated into bands of rogues or loners, or even left to be kittypets. However, moons later, a great cat called Skywatcher left an omen to a ThunderClan leader named Firestar. He and his mate, Sandstorm, traveled and brought together some cats with or without SkyClan ancestry to live in the gorge. SkyClan had thrived for a long while, as two leaders, Leafstar and Sharpstar, came and went. Now, their current leader was Treestar, who was nearly as old as Frecklewish.

Cats were passing by the numbers, and Redfur knew it. So he put the facts he knew so well to the back of his mind and refocused on the vole. He tensed his muscles and bunched up his legs, which had grown quite flabby from not climbing for sunrises, then lastly pounced onto the creature. He sunk his claws into its fleshy abdomen and applied the killing bite to its neck. Now fresh-kill, the vole hung limply in Redfur's jaws and the red tom glanced back up at his patrolmates, Fireflower and Foxsnarl.

"Take it back to camp." Foxsnarl grumbled the order as his dark gaze peeked around trees for furry prey and inspected the ground for grubs and beetles by pushing away leaves with his paw.

Fireflower nodded in agreement, bouncing around the area just as Foxsnarl snapped to her, "You'll scare away every speck of prey in this forest!"

The she-cat glared at her brother and shuffled away, muttering "grump" like the word was bile on her tongue.

Redfur dipped his head to the slightly older warriors and the young tom bounded away, making sure that his pawsteps thrumming gently on the ground wouldn't startle any bit of the forest. Soon he reached the gorge and sighed, staring at it sadly.

Redfur had been made a warrior five moons ago, and was only able to live a regular warrior life before for two moons until the sickness came. A loud moaning sounded from the warriors' den, and Redfur's amber gaze followed Frecklewish as the old she-cat limped over to where the sounds came from.

This only meant one thing: _another cat is sick, _Redfur thought as his shoulders drooped. The SkyClan tom trudged over to the medicine den and waited outside it, his ears pricking at the sound of Frecklewish's patients inside.

Currently Mossfoot was ill, and Specklecloud still was even though her kits, Rainpaw and Hawkpaw, were now apprentices.

The two she-cats were conversing quietly, though the words flowed out of their mouths steadily. Most likely Clan gossip, not like there was that much left to chat about these days besides the drought and disease.

SkyClan only had five warriors left, and Redfur was one of them. Unfortunately, with Mossfoot confined to the medicine den then it was four. _There's no way we could survive if there was a sudden attack, _Redfur thought as he finally dropped the vole to his paws, hoping that nothing bad had gotten into his system from carrying the 'kill around.

When the vole was alive it hadn't looked too sickly, just small; but as Redfur heard Frecklewish say once, you never know.

"It's terrible, isn't it?" a raspy voice sounded in Redfur's ear, startling the young tom. He glanced over and saw Cherrytail walking over to him, her patched tortoiseshell pelt scraggly and heavily grayed with age. The she-cat was even older than Frecklewish and Treestar. She had been here when the modern SkyClan was first brought back together by the ancient Firestar and Sandstorm. She had been Sharpstar's mate and she had his kits, then became his loyal deputy a while after until she retired and Treestar, then Treebranch, took her place. Though her mate and kits were long dead, barely any grief showed in Cherrytail's eyes. She was still just as feisty as she had been when she and her brother, Sparrowpelt, were young. Redfur admired her on many levels, for still being strong even at a time like this. Some cats complained that the elder was healthier than all the rest of them.

"Oh, um, yes," Redfur replied shakily, realizing that he had zoned off again, just like he always did. The tom was really into the history of SkyClan, and he loved to dig deeper into all the stories he could get. He and Cherrytail often had long talks about what SkyClan was like oh-so-long-ago.

The she-cat smirked and sat down beside him, her tail whisking to-and-fro over the warm stone at their paws. Her gaze dropped down to the vole at Redfur's paws, and then returned up to the warrior. "SkyClan won't be around much longer," she whispered, staring at nothing in particular as she sat back on her haunches.

Taken by surprise, Redfur struggled to his paws, trying not to trip over his catch as he glared at Cherrytail. "What? What are you talking about?" he demanded, eyes ablaze with an amber fire.

"Isn't it obvious?" Cherrytail murmured, refusing to look at him and seeming unfazed. "The sickness is bringing us down. It was always meant to be. We thrived for a long many moons, but now it's our time to separate again."

"No, it's _not_," Redfur retorted, his breath touching the elder's muzzle as he stiffened at the thought of his Clan dying away, like the last few wisps of cloud on a clear-skied day. "SkyClan will be strong as ever. We already were chased away once, we broke apart, yes, but then we found each other again. I can't let bond that be destroyed."

Cherrytail shook her head in disagreement calmly, as though she could sit here all day arguing back and forth about it. "Nothing lasts forever," she replied, scratchy voice reaching deep into Redfur's soul. He squirmed uncomfortably, willing for it to stop as the old she-cat continued. "Even the trees you see above your head when hunting or patrolling will, long from now, be simply stumps on the ground. Twolegs will eat away at the world we know so well. If we have any hope of surviving, it's to-"

"… leave the gorge?" Redfur finished for her, eyes wide in question. "But, no Cherrytail! We can't just… _leave _the gorge. It's our home, and… and…" He was at a loss for words. His gaze, glimmering with curiosity and realization, flashed to the elder.

The tortoiseshell's tongue flicked out of her mouth and tapped a paw, moistening it. Rubbing it over her whiskers, Cherrytail answered. "I'm no medicine cat, Redfur, but I know when we aren't welcome here anymore. If you all leave, I won't come with you. I'd like the stay in the gorge for the rest of my life, but young cats like you have the ability to reach amazing heights. I recommend…"

"Well, Mistybreeze has it," Frecklewish announced as she shuffled over from the warriors' cave to stand in front of Cherrytail and Redfur. "Vomiting. Cough. Stomachache. Fever. All the usual symptoms. Rainpaw will need a new mentor for the time being."

Redfur observed the medicine cat and only elder meet gazes, countless memories flooding from one pair of eyes to the other. He smiled, wishing that one day he too could have a relationship like that with a cat; where you were so close and so old you remembered everything that happened from back in the day to now.

The spotted she-cat tore her gaze away from Cherrytail and fixed it on Redfur, then the vole. "It should be fine," Frecklewish muttered breathlessly without checking it as she pushed past them into her den. "Two of our three warriors are already sick, so what's another one?" Her mew was drenched with sarcasm, but Redfur didn't find it funny. What Cherrytail said still rung in his ears.

_ The sickness is bringing us down. It was always meant to be. We thrived for a long many moons, but now it's our time to separate again. If we have any hope of surviving, it's to- _

"Leave the gorge," Redfur muttered as he stood, picking up the vole. He nodded to Cherrytail before padding off in direction of the nursery. Brightfrost was heavy with Foxsnarl's kits, and they were due soon. At least it would be more cats for SkyClan, but it would also be more mouths to feed. _At least Brightfrost can provide milk for their first two moons of life, _Redfur thought to himself as he ducked into the cave, which was darkening along with the sky as dusk approached.

"Who's there?" A white pelt glowed in the back of the den. Brightfrost rolled over in her nest, yellow eyes gleaming with a bright light indicating health.

"Redfur, with fresh-kill," Redfur responded, padding forward until the queen's sweet scent wreathed around him. He dropped the vole to the cool stone and nudged it over to the white queen.

"Oh, thank you," Brightfrost mewed gratefully, sitting up and digging right in. "Vole is my second-favorite after squirrel, of course." She hesitated in her fairly loud chewing, watching Redfur turn tail and start to leave. "Redfur?"

"Yes?" the red tom turned and gazed at the she-cat expectantly.

"You make sure you stay in a cave the rest of today. It is way too hot this greenleaf to be outside anywhere for too long."

Chuckling lightly, Redfur nodded. "I will abide to your command," he answered goodheartedly before trotting out of the nursery.

**OoOoO**

"Let all cats old enough to climb a tree gather beneath me for a Clan meeting!" Treestar's yowl rang out across the camp and echoed through the stone walls, startling Redfur awake. He met the gaze of Fireflower, who hopped up and scooted out of the den.

Redfur yawned and hesitated to get up, watching Rainpaw and Hawkpaw stir. He and Fireflower had slept in the apprentices' cave overnight, while Foxsnarl stayed with his mate in the nursery since the really sick Mistybreeze was in the warriors' den and immobile for the time being.

Finally the dark red tom stood and embraced in a long strength, gaping his jaws in a huge yawn just as he did every morning before plodding out into the clearing. Small dust clouds formed at his paws at each step he took, and Redfur risked a glance up at the ruthless sun. The tom could barely remember the last time it had rained in the gorge- he had still been an apprentice.

Suddenly, a rather unpleasant scent hit him straight in the nose- the thick smell of death. Stomach twisting, Redfur couldn't help but wonder who had died last night. Was it Mistybreeze? She was sick so sudden thanks to the uncontrollable illness. Or maybe Specklecloud, even? She was infected for three moons. Thoughts spinning, Redfur took a seat towards the center of the clearing as the few other SkyClan cats filed out of their caves.

Cherrytail padded from her den and sat in the back of the small crowd, staring unblinkingly up at her leader.

The apprentices screwed up their faces, cringing at the smell they were already used to, unfortunately, as they went to sit near the medicine den to be near where their mother stayed from when they were older kits to now.

Treestar took a small breath before starting the meeting. "Well," his weak voice, more brittle than twigs frozen from frost in leaf-bare, "we lost another cat just before dawn today."

Despondent murmurs rippled through the cats. Redfur lowered his head, thinking of Cherrytail's words. Little did he know, the thoughtful elder was staring at him that very moment.

"Mossfoot is no longer with us. May StarClan light her path as she is led to their ranks." Treestar bowed his head, and Redfur bit his lip, sorrow twisting his heart. He recalled how the tabby warrior had just been talking freely with Specklecloud yesterday. How could she have been weak enough to die so shortly after?

"What a shame," a deep voice spoke. Redfur immediately recognized it as Snakestripe, the young handsome deputy. The tom was sitting just below his leader, facial expression guarded. "My sister." He spoke solemnly, but still prominently.

Redfur remembered when Mossfoot and Snakestripe had lost another littermate a while back, and now the tabby tom was the only one left. He wondered how that must feel. The red tom was born an only kit, with no brothers or sisters to play with. Luckily, Firekit and Foxkit were only a moon older than him, so they proved to be fun playmates.

"Mossfoot! Mossfoot! Mossfoot!" SkyClan chanted as though she had just received her warrior name. Yet it was all too obvious that the warrior wasn't up front to hear her name. Redfur joined in to call the dead she-cat's name, voice cracking as he called out somberly.

Soon the yowls died down and Treestar went on. "Mistybreeze is now sick as well, so Rainpaw will need a new mentor for the time being. Rainpaw, step forward."

Rainpaw's dappled gray pelt shimmered in the rising sunlight as she moved to stare up at Treestar. "Until Mistybreeze is well," the brown tom called half-heartedly, "Fireflower shall be your mentor."

The ginger she-cat hopped up and made her way over to tap noses with Rainpaw. The apprentice beamed and started back toward her brother with her new temporary mentor. Or would Mistybreeze not get better?

"And lastly, Frecklewish has a few things to say," Treestar rumbled before moving over to let the medicine cat up beside him.

Despite her age Frecklewish was still lithe, and her bony frame easily cleared the distance from the ground to the top of the ledge.

The small Clan silenced as they waited for the old she-cat to speak.

"First off, if there are any cats willing to be my apprentice, please volunteer. Full warriors are welcome," Frecklewish rasped. "I should be retired by now, and though I love serving my Clan my old bones just aren't cut out for this work anymore. So in that case a successor anytime now would be nice."

Guilt wrapped around Redfur for not stepping up. But the tom knew very well that he could never perform to his fullest if he were in the healing business.

"Nobody? Oh, well, I guess there's always Brightfrost's kits," Frecklewish murmured to herself, but Redfur and most likely several other cats could hear her. "Anyway," the medicine cat meowed, straightening up. "I'm afraid that what I have determined to be the illness inside prey is actually not the illness."

Several gasps exploded from the crowd. Redfur whipped around and glanced at Brightfrost. The queen seemed to be doing well, but what if the vole he had given her was poisoned with the disease?

"So I might have made several mistakes when evaluating fresh-kill," Frecklewish meowed. "I am genuinely sorry if you or any loved ones catch the sickness thanks to my mistakes. I will work on being a better medicine cat for you all, even if my eyesight is failing." After a long pause, she added, "That's all I have to say."

Treestar took a step forward, concern showing in his eyes as plain as the white flecks on the tom's muzzle. But before the SkyClan leader could do anything Frecklewish had disappeared into her den.

"Um, the, uh, meeting is over," Treestar stumbled over his words and lashed his tail before bounding in direction of where Frecklewish's cave was, and soon his brown pelt was swallowed by the misty blackness engulfing the medicine den.

A couple discussions instantly formed, and one caught Redfur by surprise. It was between Foxsnarl and Brightfrost, as he started toward the queen to ask her about the vole he gave her last night to eat.

The red tom stopped and slid to lay against the side of the nursery, pretending to wash himself as he listened to the mates talking.

Being true to the latter part of his name, Foxsnarl was snarling at his expectant mate. "Any cat could see what Frecklewish was hinting. She wants one of my kits to be a dumb old medicine cat."

"Calm down," Brightfrost soothed. Redfur couldn't see what they were doing, but he could picture the white-furred queen running her tail down the ruffled russet tom's spine. "We can't control the decisions our kits will make when the time comes for apprenticeship. I would in fact be proud to see one of them follow in Frecklewish's pawsteps. One day they'd be one of the top ranks in the Clan."

"But medicine cats are wimps," Foxsnarl grumbled, unconvinced. "All you do is sit and sort herbs all day. Where's the thrill in that? Being a warrior involves so much more."

Redfur blinked. What did Foxsnarl have against medicine cats so much? Or perhaps he was just being his usual grouchy self? The tom was an elder trapped in a much younger cat's body.

"Quit it," Brightfrost growled in return, voice growing tight with impatience. "When will you learn to stop criticizing medicine cats? They save lives. Stop behaving like a kit." Redfur could hear her pawsteps echoing in the nursery cave. She was trying to end the verbal fight by turning away from Foxsnarl.

"They didn't save Mossfoot's." Foxsnarl was suddenly low-toned. Redfur could feel the vibrations his sudden trembling sent through the earth. He craned his neck and peeked around the corner of the nursery.

Brightfrost turned and glared at him. "She may have been your first crush, but that doesn't mean you hate all medicine cats just because she died," she hissed, voice colder than drowning in snow.

Redfur stood and padded from where he had been eavesdropping casually, feeling bad that he had listened in on a private conversation. What had gotten into him? He needed to hunt for the Clan. Forgetting about the question he had planned to ask Brightfrost, the red tom hared over like a WindClan cat to meet Fireflower and Rainpaw at the exit to the gorge.

**OoOoO**

"So, what do you smell, Rainpaw?" Fireflower whispered to her apprentice as the group of three entered the woods. The sound of birds chirping as mice feet pattering around on the ground filled Redfur's ears, and the tom relished it as relief nearly swept him off his paws. _See, Cherrytail? _He willed the elder the hear him through his thoughts. _We don't have to leave the gorge. The forest seems lively again._

Redfur drifted away from his thoughts and observed the mentor and apprentice interacting. They didn't seem to be too friendly.

Lifting her nose in the air, Rainpaw snorted. "I've been an apprentice for a moon, Fireflower," she meowed in a persnickety tone of voice. "At least Mistybreeze doesn't ask me any dumb questions. Hopefully she'll be well soon."

Fireflower glared at her, the fiery temper that gave the she-cat her name flaring up. "It's an evaluating question for older apprentices. You should be flattered that I ask you such a question at your age."

Right away Rainpaw's eyes widened and she flattened herself to the ground, embarrassment sending heat off her pelt in waves. Redfur chuckled lightly as the younger gray she-cat mewed, "O- oh, sorry. I didn't know. Umm… I smell trees and uh, uhm…"

Her voice faded off into the distance as a faint hum once Fireflower spoke in Redfur's ear. "Isn't she difficult?"

"Hey, you shouldn't be so hard on her," Redfur retorted protectively as though he were Rainpaw's father. "She's still pretty young-"

"And grumpy at that," Fireflower interrupted as she retaliated from her Clanmate a little. Raising her voice so the third member of the patrol could hear, the ginger she-cat meowed, "Excellent, Rainpaw. You passed the exam-"

"EXAM?" Rainpaw exclaimed in question, jumping a tail-length in the air as her eyes expanded to match the size of twin lakes.

"It was a teensy weensy little one," Fireflower assured her. "Nothing to worry about at all."

Rainpaw's fur flattened and she sighed. "Oh, okay."

Redfur laughed, flashing a dazzling smile at the apprentice, blinking warm amber eyes at her. "Want to race to that oak tree?"

"Sure, that sounds fun!" she enthused, and her legs became a blur after that. Redfur allowed Rainpaw to get the head start, but he soon was scrambling after her as clumsily as a dog. He glanced back and motioned for Fireflower to join them, and the ginger warrior did.

_Nothing can be better than this, _Redfur thought as he closed his eyes and let the wind wash his fur with almost the feel of bathing in a stream. _The gorge is SkyClan's home, and always will be._

**OoOoO**

"Specklecloud and Mistybreeze both died last evening, just as night turned to day," Treestar reported, his voice weak and hoarse. "Mistybreeze was moved to Frecklewish's den, but she only grew worse as did Specklecloud. They died curled up together as old friends."

The scent of grief and mourning was strong in the clearing. Redfur glanced around, eyes glistening.

"My mother _and _my mentor!" Rainpaw yowled to the sky before burying her face in Hawkpaw's fur. Fireflower murmured something in the apprentice's ear but it seemed to do no good cheering her up.

Brightfrost stood from where she was at the nursery's entrance, swollen belly swaying as she wailed, "Mistybreeze, no!" Redfur remembered that the silver she-cat had been Brightfrost's sister.

A few sunrises had come and gone since Mossfoot's death had been announced. Redfur and Snakestripe had helped Cherrytail carry the limp tabby's body out into the forest for burial after the vigil. Now they had to do the same for two cats at once.

Redfur watched as Foxsnarl and Frecklewish backed out of the den, each dragging a body with them. Redfur wanted to avert his eyes, but found he couldn't. How many cats had SkyClan lost? His gaze slid slyly over to Cherrytail. The tortoiseshell elder returned his somber look, but it was softened from grief. The old cat had watched every single cat in SkyClan from birth to death. She probably remembered watching Mistybreeze, Brightfrost, and Specklecloud play together as kits. She had been an elder then. Now they were dead, and still she lived on.

The warrior and medicine cat carefully laid the bodies in the center of the clearing, and cats gathered around them like moths swarmed around a Twoleg light.

Redfur joined his Clanmates, staring into the glassy eyes of the two dead she-cats. How could StarClan be so cruel? The red tom glowered up at the sky, which was a clear blue besides a few stray clouds dotting the open expanse of pure color. _Do our ancestors neglect SkyClan because we're separate from the other Clans? _he wondered in thought.

The cats closest to Mistybreeze and Specklecloud settled in next to the pair. Rainpaw and Hawkpaw laid on either side of their mother, whispering things into her fur as though she were still alive. Brightfrost, eyes glimmering with grief, slid in next to her sister as Foxsnarl sat next to them. Redfur laid a bit back from the group, feeling heat radiating from the living felines around him, and coolness from Specklecloud and Mistybreeze.

Staying awake during the night gave Redfur the opportunity to think over everything that happened from when Cherrytail spoke to him to now. He decided to talk to Treestar the next morning about SkyClan possibly leaving the gorge.

**OoOoO**

A steady drizzle of rain roused Redfur. He peeled away one crusty eyelid reluctantly with a paw, only to have a fat raindrop fall in his eye. He stood and shook out his fur, blinking vigorously to soothe his irritated eye.

The cats were soaked, but were either asleep or didn't seem to notice. Somebody had brought two large leaves to cover Mistybreeze and Specklecloud from getting wet, along with herbs to cover the death smell. _That was pointless, because the rain washed it away! _Redfur thought happily.

Feeling refreshed, Redfur bounced around the clearing, more excited than a kit at his apprentice ceremony. His paws nearly slipped on the slick stone, and the tom steadied himself before looking up into a grass-green gaze, which glittered behind the sheets of rain as it gradually grew harder.

The figure stepped closer, and Redfur recognized Treestar in half a heartbeat. Embarrassment made him shrink to the ground, but the leader smiled forgivingly and nodded in direction of his den. Slowly Redfur picked himself up and followed the tom into his den.

The smell of rain and pounding of the light torrents in his ears faded behind Redfur as he stepped beyond the fern fronds that provided privacy for SkyClan's leader and into Treestar's cave, which was carved out from the meeting ledge. He sat so close to the entrance that he was able to stick his tail out and catch several specks of rain on the fur.

Treestar turned around a few times before settling his slim body down onto his nest, which was constructed of a few bits of moss. There was barely any useable bedding left in the forest thanks to the drought, but now with this rain Redfur realized he could collect bundles of it for the whole Clan.

"Redfur," Treestar rasped. The russet tom blinked and met his leader's gaze. "How are you?"

"Oh, um, fine," Redfur mumbled, shuffling his paws on the stone beneath, which was cool to the touch and slightly moist from the rain coming in through the ferns.

Treestar shook his head. "You aren't speaking the truth." He curled his tail tightly over his paws.

Redfur gave in. "No, I wasn't. But now I will." He took a deep breath and then explained everything Cherrytail had told him about a quarter-moon ago. Treestar only nodded and murmured a few things the whole time he spoke.

When Redfur was finished, the SkyClan leader sat back and thought, pursing his lips. "Cherrytail is a wise cat," he finally meowed. "She would never lie. Maybe SkyClan should leave the gorge."

Normally Redfur would think Treestar was speaking nonsense, but now he was unsure. "I… I don't know what to do. But I'm not in charge of the Clan or anything, so I- I shouldn't worry, right? Yeah, I shouldn't worry." Redfur shook out his fur, narrowing his eyes as he felt a breeze sweep in from outside. He could hear thunder crackle in the sky, and the cave suddenly lit up with yellow lightning and for a split heartbeat Redfur could see his leader's patchy brown pelt, illuminated from the eerie light.

Seeming undaunted from the storm raging outside and the yowls of cats as they raced for cover in the caves, Treestar went on carefully just as he always did. "Though the gorge holds many memories, it also holds many deaths." Redfur nodded, shivering violently as raindrops smacked his tail. He pulled it in, spattering water all over himself as he tugged it under his body to warm it. "SkyClan should leave it, but now is not the right time. SkyClan also does not have the right cat to lead it."

Redfur blinked hard in surprise. "What? But… you're the best leader I know!"

Treestar shook his head, leaning back as another claw scratch of lightning stained the sky like blood on a battlefield and lit up the den. A chorus of thunder followed soon after. "I'm the only leader you've known your whole life. Yet don't forget that I am on my last life."

Redfur's jaw dropped as he realized that his leader could die from the terrible disease like any other cat.

"I will die soon. I know it. And I am ready for StarClan to take me. I will be young again, and I can watch you lead what is left of SkyClan to a new place, where once again you can live in peace with the other Clans."

The red-furred tom tipped his head to the side, eyes glimmering with confusion. He couldn't find any words to say, only questions he couldn't find himself ever asking. Wasn't Snakestripe Treestar's successor? Snakestripe would become SkyClan's new leader, fresh with nine lives. And how would they find other Clans?

"Snakestripe is not the right cat to follow after me. He will remain my deputy, but he won't last long either. Only the strong-hearted cats of SkyClan shall survive, and Snakestripe doesn't have the ability to care, only dominate."

"You mean Snakestripe will die?" Redfur demanded, his brow furrowing at the thought of such a big, strong tabby like SkyClan's deputy just falling to the mercy of the nasty disease.

Treestar nodded slowly. "You will take his place and give SkyClan a new home-"

"Uh, Treestar?" Redfur twisted and saw Snakestripe's large head make a gap in the fronds as he poked his head inside the den. The tabby noticed Redfur and commenced to back out. "Is this a bad time?"

"Oh, no, I was just leaving," Redfur blurted out. He stood and didn't look back at Treestar before streaking into the clearing. The rain had stopped, leaving behind a crisp, almost new-seeming gorge.

Mud sucked at his paws, and the pads seemed to absorb it hungrily until the thick brown substance was caked between each of Redfur's toes. The tom groaned and stumbled into the warriors' den, which had been cleaned thoroughly since Mistybreeze left it.

Only Fireflower was inside, and she gazed up at Redfur slowly. The red tom thought he heard a shaky "hi" from the ginger warrior but he could only sit down in a random nest and stare at the cave wall, where venerable claw marks were engraved in the black stone.

He could hardly believe it; was he really destined to lead SkyClan away from the ill-prone gorge? Or was Treestar no longer talking sense thanks to age?

Redfur laid down in the nest, burying his nose in the vitreous moss. He coiled his body up into a compact ball of russet fur and closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would chase away all his literal nightmares.

* * *

**Poor Redfur has a big choice to make! Would you trust Treestar, or is he just a crazy old coot like Goosefeather? (No offense to his fans x3)**


	3. The Yellow Wind

**I feel like I've been begging for reviews too much lately on my other stories, so I'll try to chill out a bit. If you are reading this, enjoy!**

* * *

"Oh, you missed a spot, dear," Littleflower meowed gently, flicking her tail against Yellowglint's shoulder just as the yellow she-cat turned around, eyes narrowed and moss spilling out of her jaws. With a growl of annoyance Yellowglint leaned down to stuff more bedding in her mouth, cringing as a flea crawled down her neck.

She ducked under the elders' bush and stalked into the clearing, glancing up at the sky all WindClan cats were exposed to. Where was Nettlepaw when she needed him? He was an apprentice; even if he was the only one currently the least he could do was preform the apprentice chores himself.

Nettlepaw was Yellowglint's brother; however, he had been held back from his training after a rough tumble down the moor gave him a broken front arm. Now it was as good as new, but Yellowglint had been made a warrior during the time Nettlepaw was recovering from his injury. At this point the gray tom was really close to earning his warrior name. From what Yellowglint had gathered he just had to pass his final assessment with Flamestripe and then was good to go.

Yellowglint realized that she had been standing in the center of the camp with sheepswool and ferns stuffed in bundles crammed into her jaws. She giggled in amusement with herself and then trotted out to the territory, holding her head high as she tried to forget about why she was out on the fields in the first place. Getting fresh bedding for the elders seemed like a shameful task for a warrior such as her to do; no matter how new of a one she was.

The yellow-furred cat felt her paws turn to clouds and before long she felt like she was floating on the air; not a thing could stop her. Yellowglint could barely wait for the Gathering a few nights away; if Ivystar let her go, it would be her first one as a full warrior. The moon had arrived early tonight, already shining in the blue sky, countless pawsteps away from where Yellowglint stood.

She flicked her head suddenly, letting go of the bedding she carried. Yellowglint watched the used moss flutter over the edge of the hill and down onto the grass below. It was still on WindClan land. Snarling playfully to herself, Yellowglint flung herself down onto the long grass, letting it tickle her nose before rolling down the hill like a log- a furry, snickering log.

The WindClan warrior ended up at the lake's edge; she was so near it in fact that the tips of her fur were water-tinged. Yellowglint hopped to her paws and returned to the bedding, a fox-length away.

She picked it up again, pain shooting through her muzzle in protest. Ignoring it, Yellowglint bounded to the shore, allowing her paws to sink into the sand. Curling her claws into the grainy stuff, the warrior threw the ferns and sheepswool into the water. A small splash broke the lake's smooth surface each time a clump hit it.

"Having fun there?" An amused voice reached Yellowglint's ears just as the she-cat spun around by coincidence; but seeing who it was that had approached her made the yellow she-cat blush profusely under her pelt.

Addertooth's thick tabby pelt shone in the greenleaf sun as he appeared at the top of the hill and started bounding down. His flawless amber eyes twinkled as they stared at Yellowglint, who was lost for words until she finally muttered, "Yes."

For as long as Yellowglint could remember, Addertooth had been her crush. Even when they were kits, Yellowkit and Adderkit, his chubby handsome face made Yellowkit swoon. She and all the other she-cats flocked to him when they were apprentices. But now that they were warriors… every she-cat in the Clan seemed to be competing for the perfect tomcat.

She shuffled back around to face the wide expanse of lake water as Addertooth padded up to her and sat down next to the she-cat, his medium brown fur brushing her own yellow pelt as his rump hit the sand.

Yellowglint swallowed quietly and settled down beside Addertooth, urging her inner self to stay mature and not be silly like she usually was.

They rested like that for a while, just sitting side by side, pelts barely touching. It took nearly all Yellowglint's strength to not squeal with joy. Addertooth definitely loved her! When would he ask her to be his mate? She shuffled her paws, starting to feel a bit restless.

"Hey, Yellowglint," Addertooth meowed, voice more smooth than the still lake's surface. She looked over at him. "Do you want…"

_To be my mate. To be my mate. To be my mate._

"… to race?" Addertooth finished, standing up and stretching with a wide smile.

Well, they were WindClan cats after all. But still Yellowglint couldn't hold back the disappointment pricking at her paws. "Sure," she mumbled, hopping to her paws with fake eagerness.

Addertooth crouched down, tail waving as he prepared to sprint. With a inaudible sigh Yellowglint copied him, no longer seeming to feel the joy when his pelt brushed hers. _I really thought… he would ask me there. _She glanced over at him, but the tabby tom was staring straight ahead, seeming clueless to her effort to get him to _notice_ her obvious love for him.

"Ready… on your mark… get set… _go_!" Addertooth cried. His legs splayed out beneath him as he started to run. Soon he was just a brown smudge on the moor grass. Yellowglint started after him, gradually picking up the pace as she gained on her Clanmate.

Yellowglint closed her eyes and let her paws completely take over. Wind rushed through her pelt and heather tickled her legs.

They had nearly made a complete circle around their territory when a shrill screech made Yellowglint skid to a stop. She saw Addertooth far ahead of her, writhing in pain on the peaty long grass.

A gasp of horror slipped from between Yellowglint's lips as she rolled to a stop beside the tabby. One of his legs was bent at an awkward angle. "What… what happened?" she cried, barely able to look at the injury as she sat down beside Addertooth, giving him comforting licks.

"I was trying to stop myself… but I tripped over a rock and landed badly. I- I think it's broken," Addertooth gasped, sniffing his disfigured leg tentatively.

Yellowglint's stomach curled into a tight ball. "Okay, well, I'll help you get back to camp," she mewed lightly. Bending down, the yellow she-cat slid her shoulder underneath one of Addertooth's arms. The tom lifted himself up, and the mismatched pair limped back to camp.

"I can't… hold you much longer," Yellowglint wheezed like a dying elder about halfway back to camp. Addertooth slid from her grasp and dropped back down to the ground gently. "I'll have to get some help. Wait here, okay?"

Blindly Yellowglint stumbled back to camp and looked around. Cats were moaning all around her. She blinked in confusion and padded over to where the only other three warriors besides her and Addertooth were in a group. "What's going on?" she demanded, flattening her ears as the groans and yowls grew louder.

"Haven't you noticed?" Roseleaf growled. She flicked her tail angrily. "A rabbit hasn't been caught for days. We've had to settle for mice, but we've killed most of the family in the nest nearby. I think the rabbits have finally… well, come to their senses and moved from our moor."

"I must have been so busy I didn't realize what was going on," Yellowglint replied shakily just as Addertooth popped back into her mind. "But I need your help," she added. "Addertooth broke his leg when he and I were racing, and I need help getting him back to camp."

"Like he even wants to come back here," Lightningflight mumbled, but Flamestripe and Roseleaf stood and followed Yellowglint out of the camp to help.

"I can't _believe _you got to race with Addertooth _and _touch him and stuff," Roseleaf muttered in Yellowglint's ear as they lagged behind Flamestripe. Shock was clear in her tone. "I think he really does like you, Yellowglint. _Lucky_."

Yellowglint laughed as she and Roseleaf trotted forward to catch up with Flamestripe. "So how has Nettlepaw been lately?" she quizzed Flamestripe, her brother's mentor.

"Great," Flamestripe answered, sneaking a side glance at Yellowglint. "He's really come far since the injury. Hopefully Addertooth will recover just as fast."

"Here! I'm here!" Addertooth called out. Yellowglint could glimpse the brown tips of his ears over the grass and, as she got closer, his broken limb stretched out in the air. The patrol of three raced to the injured tom's side. "Thanks for getting help, Yellowglint," the tabby panted as he was lifted onto Flamestripe and Roseleaf's shoulders. "And now I get a badger ride home."

**OoOoO**

"I heard what happened," the medicine cat Brindlefur meowed as the four cats reentered camp. "Bring him here." Yellowglint followed Flamestripe and Roseleaf in, then watched as the two older warriors laid down and gently rolled Addertooth off their backs.

"Hm," Brindlefur mused as he ducked into his herb store. He returned with a huge wad of comfrey stuffed into his jaws. "Now Addertooth needs some privacy please," the thin brown tom stated.

"Bye, Yellowglint, Flamestripe, Roseleaf. Thanks for helping me," Addertooth meowed before giving his bad leg to Brindlefur for him to check out.

Yellowglint and the other two warriors padded out of the den.

Flamestripe went to talk with Lightningflight, and Roseleaf and Yellowglint padded off to talk near the warriors' den, only to trip over Ashcloud's three, Oakkit, Dawnkit, and Eaglekit. The troublesome three were scampering around camp, annoying felines left and right.

"Oops! Sorry," Dawnkit, polite as always, apologized before pushing her brothers away before Yellowglint and Roseleaf could stumble over them again.

Yellowglint laughed and continued toward the warriors' den, Roseleaf by her side. The mottled she-cat was only two moons older than the yellow warrior, and the two were growing to be quite good friends.

"So what do you think about this whole hunger issue?" Yellowglint whispered to Roseleaf.

Roseleaf opened her mouth to reply only to be interrupted by Ivystar's yowl. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath me for a, uh, Clan meeting!"

Ivystar was a fairly new leader, still mastering the leader rituals. Often the gray tabby muttered a few "uhs" or "ums" in between his words.

His deputy, Reedstripe padded over and sat underneath the Tallledge. His russet fur shone brightly as the sun-exposed camp allowed light to reach it. Brindlefur poked his head out of his den, then walked the rest of the way out, sitting and curling his tail over his paws. He muttered something to Addertooth inside. Flamestripe and Lightningflight sat next to the she-warriors, while Ashcloud and her kits lay just outside the nursery. Palemist and Littleflower, the elders, shuffled over to sit in the back row. Not that there were many cats left in WindClan; and, according to the attendance of the last Gathering, the other Clans were struggling as well.

Yellowglint and Roseleaf stood and moved again to sit closer to their leader. Worry made Yellowglint's medium-length fur stand on end. What was Ivystar going to announce? The possibilities made her head spin.

"Well, WindClan has a new warrior today," Ivystar meowed. His gaze fell on Nettlepaw, who perked up instantly and slowly made his way to the front of the Clan. Flamestripe stood as well, prepared to answer any questions the leader had for him. Pride filled Yellowglint's heart, and she flattened her fur. So this was it. Her brother's warrior ceremony! "Nettlepaw, step forward." Ivystar didn't really need to say that, though, because Yellowglint's littermate was already at the base of the Tallledge, staring up at the WindClan leader happily.

"Um, I, Ivystar, leader of WindClan, call upon my warrior ancestors, uh, to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard, um, to understand the ways of your noble code, and I, uh, commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Um, Nettlepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and, uh, to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost, um, of your life?"

"I do," Nettlepaw proclaimed, eyes brimming with happiness as he stood on his toes to gaze up at Ivystar in anticipation of hearing his warrior name.

Tail twitching, Ivystar went on, speaking clearly without a single stutter. His forehead was crinkled in concentration. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Nettlepaw, from this moment you will be known as Nettlethorn. StarClan honors your bravery and courage and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan."

"Nettlethorn! Nettlethorn! Nettlethorn!" The minimal WindClan cats yowled to the sky. Yellowglint had a feeling she was the loudest of them all.

Once the ceremony was over, she dashed over to her brother, feeling as though she were walking on clouds. "You're finally a warrior alongside me!" she purred, licking his cheek just as Ivystar had heartbeats before.

"Y- yep," Nettlethorn choked out between a series of coughs. Yellowglint backed away, anxiety gnawing at her belly like a rat.

"Are you okay? Should I fetch Brindlefur?" she grilled, already turning toward the medicine den until her brother stopped her. At his touch, she could feel his body trembling. "What's wrong? You were just fine moments earlier!"

Nettlethorn shook his head quickly. "I don't know how much longer I'll last. Flamestripe already made me stop and go check with Brindlefur in the middle of my assessment; he's afraid it's whitecough."

Yellowglint's belly clenched. She collapsed onto the grass, feeling as though she were the one that was sick. "But… couldn't that turn into _green_cough? What if you… you die?"

He curled up next to her, not seeming to care that they were in the heart of the clearing. "If I'm gone by dawn, just remember, Yellowglint-" He was cut off as a long line of hacks seized him, making his young slim body tremble with the effort of drawing another breath in.

"What?" she cried, pressing against him in spite of the risk of catching his illness. _How could something so tragic happen? First the whole Clan's starving, and now my brother…_

"You were always the leader of us two. Even when cats mentioned us; Yellowkit and Nettlekit, Yellowpaw and Nettlepaw. It was always you first. But I don't mind. You were born to be a leader, Yellowglint, and one day you will find yourself in a situation where you have no choice but to take charge."

Confusion clouded Yellowglint's thoughts. Was she going insane? "Did StarClan send you a message or something… ? Where are you going with this?"

"Watch for the sign of the Colorful Sky. It will lead you to your new home." And with that he stood and shakily padded to Brindlefur's den. It seemed as though her energetic young brother was now an ancient legendary elder. What had gotten into him?

**OoOoO**

A few sunrises passed. Nettlethorn was battling for his life in the medicine den. He laid around all day. Brindlefur told Yellowglint that there was fluid building up in his lungs, and soon he would just be unable to breathe and "drown".

Addertooth's health was improving, luckily. He could hop around the camp now, and the bone in his broken leg was melding back together nicely.

Yellowglint was heavily depressed, nevertheless. How could something so sudden happen like that? WindClan was weakening quickly. Lightningflight was barely alive, seeming to have caught whatever crazy disease Nettlethorn had.

Grief clouded Yellowglint's vision as she padded over to Roseleaf. At least she had her friend to count on.

The cream she-cat was curled up just outside the warriors' den, her tail draped over her muzzle as she stared into the distance. Careful not to disturb her Clanmate too much, Yellowglint sat beside her for a bit before finally meowing, "What is the fate of the Clans?"

"Hm?" Roseleaf turned her head and ogled Yellowglint uncertainly as though she were a dead rabbit infested with maggots.

"Cats are dying by the numbers. My brother and Lightningflight may not make it. Who's next? Maybe this territory isn't fit for us anymore." The yellow warrior squinted at the sky for a heartbeat, wondering if StarClan was even watching over them anymore.

Roseleaf hissed and leaped to her paws. "At least you're not expecting-" Then she stopped herself from going on, and returned to her haunches. Yellowglint noticed how bony she looked. Well, every cat in WindClan was showing off their bones these days, unintentionally of course.

"Are you having kits?" Yellowglint mewed, in shock. Who was her mate?

"Yes," her friend rasped, shaking her head slowly. "It was a mistake. They're… they're Reedstripe's."

A wide smile crossed the WindClan she-cat's lips, almost wider than an eagle's wingspan. "Congratulations! Got in good with the deputy, huh?" Yellowglint purred, nudging Roseleaf's shoulder playfully.

"This isn't good or funny," Roseleaf spat, curling her tail tightly over her paws as she leaned away from her comrade's touch. "To have kits, at a time like this? I don't even know if I love him, Yellowglint. Great StarClan, he doesn't even know he's going to be a father. I just don't think I'll be able to survive kitbirth in this hard of a season, Yellowglint, let alone my kits! It's too difficult to find even a morsel of meat these days, despite it being greenleaf. I made a mistake, and I regret it. But now there's no turning back- I will have to have these kits, alive or not."

Yellowglint's shoulders sagged. "How can you think this way? I mean, I know I was all down just a few moments ago, but this is good news! WindClan _will _survive. Don't you remember both Great Journeys? The Clans have been through the absolute worst: when our first home got destroyed by mouse-brained Twolegs, the drought, the Dark Forest battle, the flood… come on, Roseleaf, don't you think-" Just then Yellowglint remembered what Nettlethorn had told her a few days ago.

_Watch for the sign of the Colorful Sky. It will lead you to your new home._

**OoOoO**

"I can't believe it. It's greenleaf and yet I feel like a glacier," Roseleaf complained as she and Yellowglint shuffled carefully down a hill that led to the tree-bridge to cross to the Gathering Island.

"Don't worry. You're not glacier-size yet," Yellowglint purred in amusement, giving her friend a nudge as she bounded forward a few paces to stretch her legs.

"Very funny. I still don't know how to tell Reedstripe. This is a serious matter!" The cream she-cat pounded after Yellowglint, and the yellow she-cat felt her friend's breath warm her ears. It was a comfort to the biting cold air that was unusual for this season. Yellowglint shuddered and chose not to reply.

WindClan was a scrawny little group that made Yellowglint's chest hurt. Two of their warriors were deathly ill, two were healthy, one was improving in health, and one would be moving into the nursery soon. What if they were attacked? There was no way that they could survive.

However, in spite of how terrible the other Clans looked- WindClan was the last to arrive- it made Yellowglint feel better. _We're not the only ones struggling. _She stuck by Roseleaf's side as the two she-cats and Flamestripe went to sit by Ivystar's branch. The gray tabby leader clawed his way up, crinkling his nose in disgust. WindClan cats were never meant to even flick a tree with their tail-tip, let alone climb it. Reedstripe settled down below his leader. Brindlefur had stayed back with Lightningflight, Nettlethorn, and Addertooth. Littleflower and Palemist had attended as well, and besides Ashcloud and her kits, that was all of WindClan.

"I see none of us are doing too well," Dovestar, ThunderClan's leader, announced, flicking her cream-furred ears.

Lightstar blinked and ducked his head in mourning, while Slashstar bared his teeth. "ShadowClan is never weak! Look at us! We are well-fed and our pelts are shining with health-"

"Don't lie, Slashstar," Ivystar growled, staring fearlessly at the older leader. "You know as well as the rest of us that the four Clans might as well be over."

Yellowglint's shoulders sagged. Would the Clans she had grown up to know and love really just dissipate like early morning fog?

"So you're saying that we're all puny little kits with no sense of defense?" Lightstar demanded, challenging the WindClan leader with a fierce light in his green eyes that had earned him his name.

Ivystar tensed, and crouched as though he were preparing to leap onto the RiverClan tom's branch and confront him muzzle to muzzle. But instead he muttered, "Just announce your Clan's news."

"Fine, I will," Lightstar sighed, voice softening again as he swung around to face the cats below him. All of the cats in attendance at this Gathering was about a fourth of the normal amount at other Gatherings. "I am disappointed to announce the death of Duckfoot, one of our long-time trusted elders, as well as one of our warriors Gingergaze. They both passed from greencough a few sunsets ago."

_And yet you think the Clans are strong, _Yellowglint thought scornfully, but still she joined in the low chant of Duckfoot and Gingergaze's names. Once again, Yellowglint found herself staring at the sky, crystal clear in the frosty air. The moon shined brightly down on the cats. _How can StarClan approve of us all failing? There will never be Clans just like these four. How can they be happy?_

"Anything else?" Slashstar growled, striped tail lashing impatiently.

Lightstar fixed the ShadowClan leader with a firm, stern gaze as though he were confronting an apprentice for inapplicable behavior. "No, I don't have any other news. No new kits have been born in moons. Our only queen, Jumpingspirit, is expecting kits. She's our last hope for the future of RiverClan. Ivystar is right. The Clans are barely anything anymore."

The dark brown tabby cringed away from his fellow leader, then turned to the cats below him. "Well, ShadowClan is doing… just fine," he meowed, stubbornly refusing to admit that no Clan was doing well at all. "Spicefeather's kits were just apprenticed, one to our medicine cat." All of a sudden, Slashstar looked a bit uncomfortable, squirming on his thick branch as though he were hiding something. Yellowglint snorted to herself- knowing ShadowClan, he probably was.

"_Anything else _to add, Slashstar," Dovestar asked, a hint of amusement making her tone light and airy. "before I go?"

A long silence followed the ThunderClan leader's question, but finally Slashstar sighed obnoxiously and rolled his eyes. "Oh, fine. While we're revealing Clan weaknesses, I might as well say that one of our queens lost her litter of kits to greencough, while the other is in critical condition- 'cough for her as well. And um, Spicefeather… she's gone too. A monster hit her."

_For once not a natural killer, _Yellowglint thought.

"I'm terribly sorry," Dovestar mewed quietly. She and the other leaders looked a bit surprised that Slashstar actually told the other Clans the bad news. Eventually the cream warrior stepped forward, the branch she was standing on swaying under her weight. "It is very unfortunate I have to announce this, but… one of our strongest toms died last night, Stormclaw. Counting my deputy, we have five warriors left. All three of our apprentices are battling greencough. And of course, there's hunger to talk about-"

"Wait, stop. Just, um, stop!" Ivystar called, leaping forward rather clumsily on his branch. Yellowglint tensed, prepared to jump to her paws and defend her leader's case, whatever he was planning to do.

"What is it?" Lightstar mewed, tilting his head on one side as he and the other leaders focused on Ivystar.

"We can't just give up like this. Yes, cats are dying by the numbers. Few new litters have arrived, and barely any promotions have happened since the last Gathering. But let's face it- the Clans have survived the worst before," Ivystar started. Yellowglint puffed out her chest in pride for him as though he was her own kit. _Yes! Finally another cat understands. The Clans won't end right here. _Adrenaline and bravery filled her veins, flowing along naturally with her blood. "Even if we don't last here, we can travel to a new home, just like the first two, uh, Great Journeys."

"Why, that's as easy as making dirt!" Slashstar responded sarcastically, striped tail raised high in the air as the ShadowClan leader paced back and forth indignantly.

Dovestar glared at him. "Ivystar's right, you idiot; leaving the lake may be the only choice available if we have any hope of surviving." Her blue eyes twinkled for a heartbeat, and Yellowglint assumed that the cream she-cat was thinking about treasured memories here at the lake, at the Clans' long-time home after the forest.

Since there seemed to be a long period of silence, as though the cats were mourning for a huge loss, Yellowglint ducked her head beside her Clanmates and sighed softly, allowing her brain to uncover all her memories while she had the chance.

_"Yellowkit! Nettlekit! You two get over here this instant," their mother chided gently, wrapping her tail around Yellowkit and licking Nettlekit's head as her offspring toddled over on still unsteady legs._

_ A squeal slipped out from Nettlekit's parted lips, and he ducked away from his mother's moist tongue, scrunching up his tiny pink nose. "I can wash myself, thanks."_

_ Yellowkit purred in amusement at her brother's antics. She batted his nose with a ginger paw before twisting to gaze up at their mother, a beautiful pale gray queen. "How much longer until we're big, strong warriors?" she asked, curiosity igniting a spark of youth in her young eyes._

_ "I'm afraid it'll be quite a while, little one," their mother replied, a previously present crease deepening on her furry forehead. It was obvious that she wasn't ready to have her pair be apprentices yet._

_ "Oh," Yellowkit whispered, disappointed to know this._

Yellowglint smiled a bit as she recalled more bits and pieces of scenes with her mother in her head. Unfortunately, Rainpuddle had died of greencough not too long ago. _Just like Nettlethorn is now…_

"Now," a voice broke the silence, and every feline's head shot up simultaneously. "Who's with me? Who's with WindClan to travel and find a new home?"

Yellowglint blinked up at Ivystar, feeling a pit of dread start to germinate in her belly. _Why did he make the decision for every cat in WindClan? Maybe not all of us want to go. _She glanced around to see her Clanmate's reactions, only to see more unsure or shocked faces.

"Woah woah woah, don't be a rebellious firebrand, Ivystar," Lightstar stepped forward, fur spiked most likely in surprise as well. "We can't make decisions like this so soon-"

"ThunderClan agrees to travel with WindClan to find a new home," Dovestar announced proudly, interrupting the RiverClan leader with a twitch of one ear. "We might as well, seeing how this territory never serves us any good."

This left RiverClan and ShadowClan. Yellowglint's gaze flashed from Lightstar to Slashstar, wondering which stubborn tom would give in first. Surprisingly, it was the latter.

"Shadow… ShadowClan will come as well," Slashstar growled, seeming to resent placing his paw beside Ivystar and Dovestar's.

All eyes turned expectantly to Lightstar. Yellowglint could tell how hard the golden tom was trying to hold his ground, but eventually he had no choice and gave in by smacking his paw down on the stone next to the other leaders'.

Ivystar glanced up and ran his mournful gaze over the cats. "Then it is so. We must leave the lake."

* * *

**Redfur or Yellowglint? Get ready for your favorite- ThunderClan POV in the next chapter!**


	4. The Green Thunder

**Here is chapter three.**

* * *

"Dovestar! Dovestar, surely you're kidding. You couldn't possibly think that leaving the lake is a reasonable idea!" Greeneyes called after his leader as he leaped over boulders protruding from the ground to catch up to his leader. He was going so fast, he practically knocked Dovestar over, but luckily the leader dodged him just in time.

"The Clan leader's word is law, Greeneyes. Do you care to challenge the warrior code?" the cream she-cat responded calmly, tail flicking dismissively.

Greeneyes growled quietly in annoyance. "I may be the newest and youngest warrior, but that doesn't mean you can't hear me out!"

"Look," Dovestar mewed softly, leaning in close enough to Greeneyes to make his paws tingle. "I despise even the slightest mention of us leaving our home. But really, what choice do we have?" Greeneyes opened his mouth to speak, but she went on. "I'm afraid it's not up for debate."

ThunderClan was heading back home from the Gathering, and they were currently passing over WindClan territory. Greeneyes felt uncomfortable on a rival Clan's turf; he had a nagging, instinctive feeling that he was trespassing rather than simply crossing the moor with his Clan as his paws pounded on the peaty heather. Darkness was eating away at the lake, ever picturesque as the water rippled, reflecting the full moon's faint light.

"Fine," Greeneyes mumbled, now embarrassed that he had even brought up the topic. "When are we departing, then?"

Dovestar's blue eyes flashed in alarm when, all of a sudden, dark clouds slid in front of the moon, sneakier than a ShadowClan cat hunting at night in their scary pine forest.

Every single feline walking back to camp seemed to cower. Clearly StarClan was angry. _Do they not want us to leave? _Greeneyes wondered. _But really, if we go, they must travel as well, with us, just like the Great Journeys._

The clouds shifted a bit, and half of the circular moon appeared, as though it were too embarrassed to come out completely from behind its cover due to all of the perplexed gazes fixed on it.

Greeneyes sensed Dovestar relax beside him, and he did so as well. The moon remained half-shown… so did that mean StarClan was only partially satisfied?

Slowly ThunderClan continued, and it was when they were just crossing back into their own territory that Greeneyes remembered his unanswered question from a few moments ago.

At hearing him ask it again, Dovestar mumbled softly in response. "A moon. All of us leaders agreed to meet again in a moon on the Gathering island, and bring all our cats that are willing to go." She pursed her lips as Otterpelt, the sleek brown deputy, trotted up and murmured something in her ear.

"Oh, no," Dovestar whispered. She twisted past a few cats and raced toward the back of the group, where Greeneyes found a dark shape crumpled on the ground. His heart raced, and he glanced at Otterpelt for an explanation.

"Briarclaw. She just collapsed," the other tom meowed sullenly. "If only Jaywing were here," he growled, tail lashing as he took the lead.

Greeneyes fell into step behind him. _Otterpelt is usually a fair and kind tom. Being second-in-command of ThunderClan at a critical time like this must be hard on him. _Then he thought about Briarclaw, the only remaining elder since the hunger and illnesses started. _She shouldn't have come to the Gathering. Her body can't handle a journey like this! _

Dovestar bounded back over to them. "Mudstripe and Tumblefoot have her on their shoulders. We… we couldn't feel a pulse. We think she's dead," she reported, voice ending in a low whine.

They arrived back at the camp. Greeneyes was third to enter after Dovestar and Otterpelt, only to see Jaywing pacing outside of her den. Her blue eyes widened when she watched the cats start to come back in. The clearing was empty and barren. Greeneyes' shoulders sagged at the very thought of how not too long ago the camp used to be chock-full of felines left and right.

Dovestar and Jaywing were sisters from different litters; the medicine cat was younger. Jaywing hissed in sadness as she came upon the leader, as well as Mudstripe and Tumblefoot with Briarclaw. The two toms crouched and allowed the once-pretty golden tabby to roll off their broad shoulders.

Greeneyes watched from a distance. Jaywing murmured a few things, pressing her ear up against Briarclaw's chest. She shook her head and glanced at her sibling, eyes glistening. Greeneyes pricked his ears and made more of an effort to listen.

"Icepaw is barely alive, and Cloudpaw isn't doing so well," the tan she-cat murmured to Dovestar and Otterpelt, who had padded up after talking with Raggedwing, who had stayed back as well to protect the camp, "but Graypaw's health seems to be improving. I think he might make it, but without his sisters," Jaywing finished, tone laced with grief.

"Hey, brother!" Greeneyes gulped slightly. He felt a warm breath stir his shoulder fur, and he glanced up to see his older littermate, Raggedwing. The mottled tom purred and gave his scrap-of-a-sibling a gentle nudge. Well, it seemed gentle to Raggedwing, when truthfully it practically bowled Greeneyes over.

Greeneyes growled lightly, not loud enough for his brother to hear. Ever since they were kits, Raggedwing was superior over Greeneyes- bigger, better, and more popular than ever with the she-cats. Raggedwing had very dark brown, almost black, fur, and a battered look about him that Greeneyes found he could never figure out himself despite being brothers with this peculiar bruiser of a cat.

"How was the Gathering?" Raggedwing rumbled, placing a weighted round paw on Greeneyes' shoulder.

"Well…" Greeneyes took off to a slow start, wondering how he'd be able to tell this to his happy-go-lucky, oversized brother. "All of the Clan leaders agreed that we would leave the lake in a moon."

Raggedwing stared at him in disbelief. _"What_?"

**OoOoO**

"Can you believe it? We're actually in the warriors' den, Nightkit!"

"Is this where mother said the big cats sleep?"

"Yes!" Frostkit squealed back.

Greeneyes peeled open one sharp emerald eye with a lazy paw. He tried moving his right shoulder blade, but it was still stiff after Raggedwing had practically crunched it into two when he heard the news produced from the Gathering.

Leafpelt and Mudstripe's two kits had sneaked into the warriors' den and were prancing around, leaping carefully over sleeping bodies and squealing in delight whenever they saw something interesting. Greeneyes chuckled quietly in spite of himself. He knew that Nightkit and Frostkit weren't supposed to be in here.

Nightkit froze behind his sister, blue eyes wide in fear. "Did you hear that?" he whispered, voice lowering significantly as his gaze flashed to Frostkit.

The white she-kit shrugged and continued on her search for their father. It didn't take long; Mudstripe was curled up at the back of the den, snoring loudly.

Nightkit gulped nervously and pounced over Tumblefoot to arrive at his father's head. "M- Mudstripe?" he muttered in question.

"Hm?" Mudstripe mumbled. He rolled over onto his back. His kits saw this as a perfect opportunity to fully awaken him. Frostkit crawled onto her littermate's back against his will, and then flew through the air to smash onto Mudstripe's vulnerable stomach.

Greeneyes snickered and slunk out of the den before he could witness Mudstripe's scolding to the kits.

**OoOoO**

Outside in the clearing, the sun was peeking over the horizon, indicating dawn. Light glowed from behind the Highledge and surrounding stone walls, illuminating a still golden body in the center of the camp.

Greeneyes blinked back tears and staggered slowly over to Briarclaw. The elder appeared to only be resting peacefully; he swore he could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest, though he knew that there was no longer a spirit in this body. He curled up beside her, realizing that her vigil must be tonight.

"May you travel to StarClan in peace," he murmured, burying his muzzle in the dead she-cat's now-cold fur.

Leaves brushed together, and branches scraped as the trees rustled from the oncoming chilly breeze. Greeneyes shivered when a thought suddenly came to him.

It hadn't always been just him and Raggedwing. They used to have a sister, Softpaw. She was a beautiful light brown tabby she-cat with amazing amber eyes, not like any Greeneyes had ever seen before. But when they were all on a hunting patrol one day, Softpaw was chasing prey across the Thunderpath when, of course, she got hit. It was no unique death, but it certainly was a tragic one. Raggedpaw and Greenpaw were devastated, and they could barely say a word for a moon until they finally recovered, Raggedpaw first.

"Now is not the time for mourning, Greeneyes," a voice snapped. Greeneyes glanced up to see Otterpelt glaring down at him.

"Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly as he stood up to meet the deputy's gaze. "Do you need me to do something-"

"Yes," Otterpelt snarled. "I do. Help me bring Icepaw's body out here to rest beside Briarclaw."

Greeneyes cowered under Otterpelt's ruthless gaze. Under that, though, the brown tabby could tell that he was just stressed out and depressed. "So you mean she… died?" he asked rather stupidly as he rose back up, shaking out each leg and fluffing out his fur.

"Yes," the brown tom repeated. "Last night. Her sister will probably follow soon after. Now will you assist me or not?"

"I'm following you," Greeneyes assured him mildly as Otterpelt turned tail and started for Jaywing's den.

The medicine den was mainly constructed of sticks woven together and a tender fern cover that could easily be ripped. The den reeked of sour smells, and Greeneyes gagged slightly as he slid carefully under the browning fern thicket after the deputy.

Jaywing was huddled in the corner of the den, trembling. What was wrong? Greeneyes peered in closer, and immediately pulled his head back. Cloudpaw was vomiting, and her waste was everywhere. Graypaw, who was still thin and sickly but better compared to his siblings, was near the herb store, eyes closed and tongue stuck out. Icepaw's corpse appeared to have been thrown near the entrance/exit of the den. Her still white form was pushed haphazardly up against the wall.

"Get out," the medicine cat hissed, nudging them away as she nearly dodged a mess. "Just get Icepaw and get out." Otterpelt nodded and scowled, concentrating as he started to work his way under the dead apprentice to lift her onto his shoulders. Greeneyes hesitated, though.

"We can just take her out by her scruff," he pointed out reasonably. "I mean, she's small and it's a short distance to take her anyway."

Otterpelt growled and Greeneyes took that as a signal to just help him and get it over with.

The tom grabbed the loose folds of skin around Icepaw's neck, allowing Otterpelt to get her completely on his back. Greeneyes realized that this was the more civilized way to carry her.

He lifted her white tail to prevent it from collecting dust from the ground, grasping it delicately between his teeth.

Otterpelt shuffled out of the den with Greeneyes right at his tail. They trudged all the way to where Briarclaw was. Tumblefoot was crouched by her, and the tortoiseshell-and-white warrior glanced up. He saw his apprentice and let out a low hiss of disappointment and grief.

"This is terrible," Tumblefoot remarked loudly, moving to make space for Icepaw. He tore up a few clumps of grass as he watched his apprentice being lowered to the ground. "She would have been a great warrior." The warriors' blue eyes flashed as he eyed Otterpelt and Greeneyes, quietly demanding more answers with his gaze. "How about Cloudpaw and Graypaw?"

Otterpelt flattened his ears. "Cloudpaw was throwing up, although Graypaw seemed to look better."

"Is it really necessary to take the lives of young cats, StarClan?" Tumblefoot yowled to the sky, eyes blazing. Grass flew in the air and collided lightly with Greeneyes' muzzle as his fellow warrior took out his rage.

"Hey, what's going on?" Raggedwing bounded over from the warriors' den. Tumblefoot turned to him, voice low and cold.

"Icepaw died too." He lashed his tail at the cold white lump crumpled on the ground by Briarclaw. "Cats old and young are dying. Nobody knows who is next."

_Watch for the sign of the Colorful Sky. It will lead you to your new home. _

Greeneyes flared his nostrils. _Who's there? _He thought he faintly recognized the voice in his head, besides his own, of course. Could it be… ?

_Watch for the sign of the Colorful Sky, Greeneyes. It will be up to you and four others to find a new home._

It was! _Softpaw! _Greeneyes thought, comfort washing through him. He glanced at Raggedwing, but it appeared that his brother wasn't receiving these messages about a colorful sky. _What do you mean, sister?_

_Watch for the sign… of the Colorful Sky… _That was all Softpaw seemed to be able to reply, and Greeneyes spat sadly when her soothing voice faded like morning mist.

"Well, somebody should take out a hunting patrol," Otterpelt announced blandly. Mudstripe was walking out of the warriors' den, Nightkit and Frostkit clinging to him. "I'll lead it," the dark brown tabby offered, shouldering off the kits with a playful growl of annoyance. "Anything to get away from these two."

"Hilarious," Tumblefoot murmured. Just then Leafpelt, his sister, raced out of the nursery. "Are the kits with you, Mudstripe?" she cried. At seeing them, she purred in relief and picked them up in her jaws, carrying them away, squirming and squealing to the milky den.

"Okay," Otterpelt agreed, not seeing to notice the quick scene that just played out with the kits. "Mudstripe, you take Tumblefoot, Raggedwing, and Greeneyes out to hunt. We need all the paws we can get."

"What about the borders with WindClan and ShadowClan?" Greeneyes queried fairly. "That needs checking too."

"But hunting is our first priority," Otterpelt objected, tail straight out behind him as he took a threatening step toward the youngest warrior. "Unless you'd rather starve?"

Greeneyes swallowed and didn't reply. He inched away from the deputy until he was trailing after the other three warriors.

**OoOoO**

"I can't believe how nasty Otterpelt has been!" Tumblefoot exclaimed the heartbeat they were out of earshot of the deputy. "He has been ruthless ever since this whole problem started."

"You can't blame him," Mudstripe argued calmly, flicking his tail from the head of the patrol. "Being deputy at a time like this is very difficult. I doubt it's any different for the other Clans."

"Sure," Tumblefoot snapped back. "Whatever."

Greeneyes sighed and glanced around the forest, nose twitching. He remembered the times back when he was just an apprentice, before Softpaw's death and before things started to go downhill. The woods would always be alive with the rustles of prey moving around. Rasping his tongue over his lips, the tabby turned and found his muzzle buried in a heap of dark brown fur. With a growl of annoyance, he leaped back and scowled up at his brother.

"Oh, sorry, Greeneyes," Raggedwing mumbled, placing his clumsy paws so that they didn't run into Greeneyes' path.

"Don't mention it," the green-eyed tom replied hotly, ears flat against his head. Why did it always seem that Raggedwing got in the way?

Mudstripe halted suddenly, causing the other three warriors to almost run into his rump. "Let's stop here," the dark brown tabby proclaimed. He nosed his way into the bushes, sniffing sadly for a few heartbeats. Greeneyes caught Stormclaw's stale scent on the brush; the gray tom had been Mudstripe's littermate.

Tumblefoot went the opposite way of Mudstripe, so that left Raggedwing and Greeneyes.

"Shall we hunt together, brother?" Raggedwing queried, eyes bright with hopefulness. _He's afraid I might turn him down. _

"Okay," Greeneyes gave in. _I'm such a pushover. _"But you be careful and quiet. Try not to get your fur caught in anything."

"I'll try my hardest," Raggedwing assured him before stomping over to the base of a tall oak tree, sniffing hard. "This tree smells weird."

Greeneyes followed his brother over to the tall oak and allowed his scent glands to catch the odor. He recognized it and wrinkled his nose. "It's sick. There wouldn't be any squirrels on that one." He moved over to the next tree, a birch, and gazed up into its wiry branches. "I'll climb up this and see what I can find. You stay here and don't move for anything. Got it?" he growled.

Raggedwing ducked his head like an ashamed kit. "Yes, brother." He shuffled his paws slowly on the dusty ground.

Greeneyes sighed and turned back to the birch. After hesitating a few moments, he leaped up onto the tree, unsheathing his claws while sailing in midair in one swift motion. He dug his talon-like claws into the bark and tore at it as he carefully made his way up. The tabby's tongue flopped out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated.

A little chitter, the sound of teeth being grinded together in a squirrel's call, alerted Greeneyes. The ThunderClan warrior sat up a little straighter. Now he moved inch by inch up the tree until he managed to pull himself smoothly onto a branch. Greeneyes tried not to imagine what could happen if Raggedwing came up here too. _The limb would probably break under all that weighted fur and muscle._

Another chatter came, and Greeneyes froze, ears erect as he listened. Once more, the squirrel chirped, and the tabby figured that it was a few fox-lengths above him. He growled quietly at the thought of climbing up even higher. Greeneyes started to look down to check on Raggedwing, but then closed his eyes. If he saw how far up he was, he could lose his balance and fall.

Greeneyes swung back out onto the trunk and tugged himself higher, gritting his teeth as his bones creaked in protest. Finally he was on the same level as the potential fresh-kill, which was looking the other way as it cracked into an acorn.

Quiet as a snake about to strike, Greeneyes crept onto the same branch as the squirrel, bold grass-colored eyes blazing and tail high in the air as he prepared to make his catch.

His bottom wiggled, and his claws shined, ready to make the kill. Greeneyes shuffled forward a bit without disturbing the squirrel… and then he pushed up with his hind legs, flew up in the air. For the heartbeat or two that he wasn't touching anything, panic spread through Greeneyes instinctively; but then he was back on the birch tree again, his claws in the squirrel's body.

Unhurriedly Greeneyes slid them out, licking off the blood quickly before picking up the squirrel in his jaws and proudly displaying his catch down to his brother. Raggedwing grinned, and then moved to scrape his claws down the tree.

Greeneyes quickly realized that both he and his brother had made a mistake; he had looked down, and Raggedwing had slammed his weight against the tree, causing it to sway. As the wood inside it creaked, Greeneyes felt the end of his branch splinter.

Releasing a distinct screech of surprise, Greeneyes scrambled to get to a safer limb. But at that point it was too late; the branch disconnected from the tree and in a flurry of fur, claws, and leaves, Greeneyes felt himself plunging rapidly toward the ground.

_You idiot! _Greeneyes thought in major dismay, not only meaning Raggedwing but also himself. Looking down at the ground was always a mouse-brained thing to do while up in the tree, and now he would pay for it with a broken body part or even death.

Greeneyes squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his squirrel, preparing for the worst as he continued to fall in slow-motion.

And then he felt it; soft fur under him. He still landed hard, but it was mostly cushioned. An _oomph _came from Greeneyes' savior under him, and the tabby, stunned, rolled off him absently.

Raggedwing. Raggedwing had saved him by sacrificing his big, plush body.

Greeneyes let his jaw go slack, and the fresh-kill tumbled out of his mouth and to the ground beside him.

Raggedwing's large head appeared above Greeneyes, who was trembling. "My StarClan!" the hefty tom exclaimed, nudging his brother up and looking him firmly in the eye. "Greeneyes, are you alright? Greeneyes, I-"

Greeneyes put his tail up and fixed a cold glare on his brother. "Don't. Say. A word," he said, lips drawn back in a full-out snarl. "You fox-dung! Why in the world would you choose to sharpen your claws on a tree _I _was on! I could've died-"

"But I saved you," Raggedwing pointed out lamely as he tilted his head, seeming confused as to why that wasn't enough to allow Greeneyes to forgive him for everything that just played out.

"Yeah, you saved me, but you had to save me because this was all your fault," Greeneyes seethed. "I wish it was Softpaw who was still alive, not you. Trouble or annoyance follows you anywhere you go."

Hurt poured off of Raggedwing's long pelt in waves, but Greeneyes ignored it. He turned away, plucked the squirrel off the ground, and mumbled, "Let's go find the others."

**OoOoO**

"Who rubbed your fur the wrong way?"

Greeneyes tensed but relaxed soon after when he felt Dovestar's soft cream fur brush his coarse pelt. "Nobody," he grumbled, not feeling like talking about what happened with Raggedwing earlier that day.

It was dusk, and he was laying on his back in the center of the clearing, squinting at the darkening sky through the treetops. His muscles ached and his head hurt, and the fact that a beautiful she-cat was right here beside him didn't help.

"Come on. You can tell me," Dovestar grunted as she laid down beside him. Her shoulder brushed Greeneyes', and he rumbled faintly as she settled in.

"Fine," Greeneyes gave in, being passive for the second time. "It's Raggedwing. Something… happened today while we were hunting and I said something mean to him."

"Have you apologized?" Dovestar mewed. Greeneyes' gaze slid over to her. The twinkling stars reflected in her brilliant blue eyes.

Greeneyes sucked in his cheeks. "Nope," he replied, his fur prickling as he sensed other cats gathering nearby to mourn Briarclaw and Icepaw.

Dovestar nodded as though she was the wisest elder in the forest. "Well, then you should, of course. Every cat knows it's the right thing to do."

"I guess," Greeneyes agreed blandly. "But he just really gets in the way sometimes. Like, today I nearly ran into him. Well, technically I did because he-"

A fluffy tail tapped his mouth, silencing him abruptly. "Just say you're sorry. I don't know what exactly went on between you two, but eventually you'll make up." Greeneyes sagged a bit when Dovestar stood up to leave. "Okay?"

He longed to hear her gentle voice one last time rather than his own scratchy tone. "Okay," he mimicked, watching her saunter away over towards the medicine den, most likely to check on Cloudpaw and Graypaw's conditions.

_Eventually we'll make up, she said. But I can never take back what I told Raggedwing. Will he ever forgive me even if I apologize?_

**OoOoO**

"Greeneyes, get up." A warm breath stirred Greeneyes' ear fur, and he chuckled a little bit, thinking it was Dovestar. He had fallen asleep last night thinking about her, and her amazing honey-sweet voice.

"Come on, nothing's funny." A sharp prod in the shoulder awoke the tabby warrior, and he stood up with a stretch, meeting Otterpelt's serious look.

"What's wrong?" Greeneyes asked, a bit embarrassed for laughing and his thoughts about Dovestar. Luckily, no cat knew of the latter.

"Cloudpaw died last night. She just about upchucked every last part of her body and then passed. Graypaw is almost stable enough to begin training however," Otterpelt reported, a twinge of grief making his usually strong tone break.

"How cruel of StarClan to snatch away two young lives, one right after the other," Greeneyes commented sadly.

"Clearly," Otterpelt responded. "Well, before everyone else wakes up to see Briarclaw and Icepaw, we should go bury them."

Greeneyes remembered how every remaining member of ThunderClan that was healthy had slept outside last night beside the two most recently dead cats to honor their memory, whether long or short.

"Um, alright," Greeneyes meowed. "I've never been involved in a burial before, though. Is it complicated?"

"No," Otterpelt answered, and Greeneyes could tell that his patience was draining. "Let's just get it over with, 'kay? Now help me get Briarclaw onto my back, and I'll nudge Icepaw onto your shoulders for you."

"Sounds like a plan." Greeneyes observed the deputy crouch into a position similar to that of hunting on the ground. The tabby then carefully grabbed Briarclaw's scruff before hoisting her onto Otterpelt.

They switched positions, and before long they were footslogging out of camp, the rising sun burning the fur on their backs.

It felt odd to have a dead cat on Greeneyes' back; and, frankly, it wasn't very enjoyable. Icepaw might have been light, especially once she got sick and stopped eating, but the heavy weight of depression forced Greeneyes to be almost unable to lift his paws.

"Hang a right up here," Otterpelt ordered as they prepared to turn. "Just up here is where most of the warriors are buried."

Greeneyes noticed that they were crossing the scent line. He resisted the urge to glance back. "They're not buried in ThunderClan territory?"

Otterpelt shook his head. Greeneyes opened his mouth to speak again, but the brown tom interrupted him. "Let me guess; you're going to ask why. Well, I do not think any feline wants a bunch of dead cats just under their paws each day. You get my point?" He groaned under Briarclaw.

"Yeah," Greeneyes grunted.

Otterpelt stopped before a large stretch of lumpy ground, filled with holes that had been dug and then filled in again. The two toms picked their way over the land until they came upon some more flat area.

"This is their final stop. Set Icepaw down," Otterpelt instructed as he wriggled his shoulders, letting Briarclaw slide off him.

Greeneyes breathed a sigh of relief as Icepaw plopped onto the ground.

"Now dig," Otterpelt went on. He tugged out a few chunks of onion grass before getting started to digging Briarclaw's grave.

Greeneyes wrinkled his nose and unsheathed his claws. He stabbed the soft earth before him a few times until he finally commenced to scoop out hunks of crumbly ground.

Digging gave Greeneyes lots of time to think as he got a good workout. And he recalled what Softpaw had told him yesterday, through silent communication. _Watch for the sign of the Colorful Sky… it will lead you to your new home._

What did she mean?

* * *

**Here is a forlorn ending.**

**P.S. I like dead bodies.**

**P.P.S. Just kidding. Dead bodies are gross.**


	5. The Blue River

**ShoutFinder: Thank you for all four reviews! Oops, didn't notice the arm/foreleg thing. I don't even write about humans, so I dunno where that came from :P Keep reading, and I shall check out your story too ^-^**

**Duckfoot was just a random cat, but perhaps it could be the same kitty. As for Dovestar, she was most likely named in honor of Dovewing, like you said.**

* * *

"Tell me how you hunt fish, Streampaw," Bluepelt instructed her apprentice, who was poised and bright, ready to learn.

The silver tabby tilted her head, confusion clouding her gaze. "Huh? But you already know how to catch a fish." She turned toward the river, which was flowing steadily just behind the two she-cats.

"Maybe I do. But pretend I don't," Bluepelt replied, shuffling forward to stand beside Streampaw. "Pretend that I am a clueless warrior from another Clan and I want to join RiverClan."

"Okay…" Streampaw murmured, blue gaze still flitting uncertainly from her mentor to the river. "Um, so you sit or stand at the edge of the bank, whichever you prefer." She paused. "I prefer sitting."

Bluepelt dipped her head and sat next to the younger cat. "Elaborate."

"Make sure your shadow doesn't fall onto the water," Streampaw explained lightly, despite the puzzlement still cowering behind her firm tone. "Unsheathe your claws." Both felines did so. "Finally, carefully peer into the water. If you see even the tiniest little flash of silver, dip your paw in and try to catch the fish. They can be slippery, though, of course because of their scales. If you manage to capture it in your claws, pull it onto the grass. If it isn't already dead, keep a tight grip on it- they start flopping around once they can't breathe- and bite the area behind its head, where its neck would be if it were a furry animal. And then you have delicious, juicy fresh-kill!" Streampaw finished with a flourish, whipping her tail.

"Wonderful!" Bluepelt praised her with a big smile. Quickly the grin faded, however, as she glanced down at the water. "Now let's see if we can find any fish. They're scarcely around anymore."

"Alright," Streampaw agreed, pausing to lick down a tuft of fluffy kit-fur that had popped back up on her chest. Bluepelt purred softly at seeing Streampaw's pelt which still resembled grayish duck down. Her apprentice hadn't been a 'paw for too long; in fact, she had been given her new name just before the epic Gathering. Streampaw was the spitting image of her tabby mother, Silverfire, who had accidentally fallen in love with Stonedust while she was deputy. Lightstar allowed her to take several moons off to raise her single daughter before returning to her duties. During that time, Amberleaf, Bluepelt's sister, was the temporary deputy. Seeing the youthful younger cat each day made Bluepelt all sentimental about her days as a kit with her littermate.

Bluepelt leaned over the edge of the river, still careful not to cast her annoyingly-present shadow over the constantly tumbling miniature waves. She squinted, desperately searching for a sign of life. _Why did I even ask Streampaw to tell me how to get a fish if there aren't any to get? _

"I'm scared, Bluepelt."

Streampaw's worried voice broke Bluepelt's thoughts, and the warrior turned to her apprentice. "What are you scared of?"

"Dying," the silver tabby tried to meow as confidently as she could, though it ended up coming out as a kit-like squeak.

Bluepelt draped her tail soothingly over Streampaw's sagging shoulders. "Don't ever think of that! Not on my watch, you won't, or your parents'. Soon we will leave the lake, and travel to a new home that will serve us well. Right?" she prompted.

"I guess," Streampaw mumbled. "But I have so many questions, like how far away is this new home? Is there even one that exists? Will we all die trying to get to it?"

"You will know soon enough," Bluepelt replied quietly. "Now, since we can't seem to find any fish, and we've had a long training session today, let's head back to camp. What do you say?"

"That sounds good," Streampaw said as she perked up a little. "Race you?" she purred with a chuckle.

Bluepelt scoffed. "Like you could beat me!" she called into the dusk light. And with that she took off, Streampaw on her tail.

**OoOoO**

"Get back over here, you idiot," Amberleaf snapped, her thin, scrubby tail smacking the ground similar in action to an angry beaver.

Bluepelt growled faintly in her throat and exchanged an unsettled glance with Streampaw. Ever since the death of Gingergaze, a close friend of Amberleaf's, the brown she-cat had been on edge. Bluepelt yearned for the outgoing, fun-loving sister she used to have rather than this indignant fuzz-brain.

Thornear lifted his nose away from his fellow warrior and padded back to the patrol. "Oh, so now I'm not allowed to sniff a bush either?"

"You're testing my patience," Amberleaf mewed without answering him. "You know what happens when a cat tests my patience."

"Trust me, everybody's had that unfortunate experience," Thornear muttered.

The cats reached the lake's edge, nearby where Bluepelt and Streampaw had been a few sunrises ago. Each new sunrise was a day closer to leaving this territory.

Bluepelt scrunched her toes in the sand, gagging at a strange smell that wafted from the dark water. _What is that terrible odor? _The blue-gray she-cat leaned closer to the lake and noticed that a thin green film had settled on the stagnant water.

"Disgusting," Amberleaf commented, twisting away from the shore and stalking back inland. "Let's go."

Thornear shrugged lamely and headed back after the other warrior, and Bluepelt started after them as she made a mental note to report this to Lightstar. Then she remembered Streampaw. She glanced back in the direction of her apprentice, and stiffened.

The silvery tabby was lapping up large mouthfuls from the lake indifferently. "Streampaw, stop!" Bluepelt screeched, lunging forward and bowling the younger cat over to prevent her from taking any more. "What in StarClan's name are you doing?" she demanded, standing over Streampaw, eyes wild and expressionless like a ShadowClan cat hungry for battle.

"Hey, calm down!" Streampaw hissed, shouldering her mentor off her with surprising strength.

"What's going on?" Thornear meowed, bounding back over with Amberleaf, looking alarmed.

"Streampaw… Streampaw drank…" Bluepelt started, but found herself unable to finish.

The silver tabby shrugged, her shoulders fluttering up and then down again. She was partial to keeping her pelt smooth rather than fluffy to make her appear older. "I just drank some lake water is all. I'd rather not drink the river water since fish make dirt in there and all…"

Amberleaf narrowed her eyes and snorted. "Well then, prepare to die."

Streampaw shrank back. "What?"

Bluepelt finally was able to catch her breath, and she sat up from where her apprentice had knocked her down. "That water has a greenish film on it; it's quite an ugly sight. And- and didn't you scent that stench rising from it?"

"In conclusion, it's not safe to drink," Thornear informed her. The brown tabby turned to Amberleaf. "We have to get her to Beetlewing, fast!"

Streampaw moaned. "Oh, I'd prefer fish waste over this!"

Bluepelt grunted and gave her a rough nudge towards camp. "Then let's go!" she exclaimed, already rushing past the others. "Hurry."

**OoOoO**

By the time the cats had arrived back at camp, Streampaw was limping heavily. She was groaning consistently, repeatedly stating how much her stomach hurt.

Silverfire looked up from the scrawny water vole she was sharing with Lightstar and pounded over, fur raised. "What's wrong with her?" She fixed her terrified gaze on Bluepelt, then Thornear, then Amberleaf. "What's wrong with my daughter?"

"Oh, my stomach…" Streampaw cried, legs folding under her. Amberleaf could only gasp while Thornear hoisted the sick apprentice onto his back in one swift motion of sliding under her; then he trod off to the medicine den.

Silverfire raced after her before Bluepelt could answer her brisk, anxious inquiry.

Lightstar ambled over, not as tense as his deputy. "What happened to Streampaw?"

Bluepelt sighed. "Before any of us could notice and stop her, she drank from the lake… there's this… strange smell rising from it, and there's a green-colored film on top of it."

"Oh, no," Lightstar mumbled. He collapsed onto his haunches as though he had drunken the poisonous water himself. "My first greenleaf, a few cats died from ingesting the lake water. Apparently every many moons, Twolegs put these nasty chemicals onto the lake, to possibly cure it of disease so they can swim in it." _So that's what the film is._

"Well, that's certainly nothing for a cat to drink," Amberleaf remarked.

"I'll have to announce it to the Clan," Lightstar spoke to no one in particular. "So nobody else gets affected."

Bluepelt watched him head over to the Smoothledge, trembling in fear for Streampaw. _Will she make it, or will the Twoleg poison kill her?_

That night, sleep refused to come to Bluepelt. Only Amberleaf and Thornear could sleep soundly around her; Stonedust was pacing outside the den, focused on his kit's survival. Silverfire was curled up, shaking, outside of Beetlewing's den, while the medicine cat was doing all he could to save Streampaw.

From what Bluepelt had heard so far, Streampaw had barely upchucked a bit of the contents of her stomach, which was her meal from earlier that day and a little smidge of the poison. Beetlewing had almost used up his entire yarrow store for her, but to no such luck. Much like a venomous snake's sudden bite, the poison was starting to take over her body. _I'd like to feed some of that stuff to a Twoleg, and see how they'd enjoy suffering like this, _Bluepelt thought in fury.

Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore. She stomped out of the den and made a beeline for Silverfire. "How is she?"

"Last time I checked, she was dying, what do you think?" Silverfire snapped, tail lashing. Her watery blue eyes were wide with worry.

Bluepelt sighed and pushed past her into the medicine den, grateful that this illness wasn't contagious. She was stunned at what she saw.

In the dim light, Streampaw was writhing in discomfort, her eyes wide and glazed over. That was how Bluepelt could tell she wasn't quite _there_; not asleep, not awake, but in between. Flecks of saliva were dotted around her muzzle, and vomit bubbled at her lips. Bluepelt wanted to look away, but found she couldn't.

"Beetlewing?"

"Back here!" a voice called. Bluepelt recognized the firm, soothing tone of RiverClan's medicine cat. He bounded to her from the back of the den, and glanced from Streampaw to her. "What is it?"

"Will… will Streampaw survive?"

Beetlewing pursed his lips and started back towards his herbs, which were kept on several fungi shelves. "It doesn't look good at the moment. But you can trust me, Bluepelt, I'm doing the best I can." The brown tom returned from his store with a hauntingly thin bundle of yarrow. He curled up beside Streampaw's fragile little head and, after a few quick chews of the bitter leaves, scooped the wet lumps into the apprentice's mouth. She seemed a tiny bit conscious enough to swallow on her own. Beetlewing spat the remaining specks of yarrow on his tongue out and then drank from his pool of fresh water, wrinkling his nose. "Let's hope I don't throw up from the stuff too."

Bluepelt nodded slowly and commenced to leave when a loud wretch stopped her in her tracks and made her raise her hackles. Her gaze flew to Streampaw, who was throwing up quite a lot. "Is it the poison?" She leaped back to her original position of a few moments before. "Is it? Is it?"

Beetlewing examined the waste calmly, being the non-queasy medicine cat he was, and nodded. "Yes, and quite a bit of it. Unfortunately, not everything has left her system." He glanced at Streampaw. "That… that was the last of my yarrow. If I had a bit more, I might be able to save her."

"Well, it's greenleaf! It can't be that difficult to find some more. I have the scent and what it looks like. I'll be right back!"

"Wait, Bluepelt-"

But that was all Beetlewing could say before the blue-gray she-cat was gone.

**OoOoO**

Everything was a darkened blur. A few faint smudges of green and blue were combined to create a muddy color that swirled teasingly around Bluepelt's vision as she hurtled out of the camp. _Yarrow. Yarrow to save Streampaw. Yarrow. _

She skidded to a halt in the heart of a field filled with fragrant smells. The warrior leaned down and grabbed a few sprigs of green absently, but didn't recognize any as yarrow. With a determined growl she pushed onward, closer to that wretched lake.

An odor caught in her throat, and for a heartbeat Bluepelt thought she was choking on an insect when she realized that she was only scenting yarrow! She scrambled over to precious clump, legs a tangled mess. Without even thinking, Bluepelt viciously pulled the herb out of the ground and hurried back to camp.

**OoOoO**

A sob escaped Bluepelt. She buried her nose into the cold silver tabby fur and shook her head. How could she not have been quick enough to get that yarrow? Now Streampaw was dead, all because of Bluepelt's poor skills of watching her. If she had been paying attention, she wouldn't have let her apprentice drink the water.

"No, no, no. You never get to see your new home…" Bluepelt whispered into the wispy pelt that used to belong to a lively young she-cat who had so much potential. "It's just not fair."

The sun climbed high into the sky like a cat journeying up the mountains. It shined down on the RiverClan camp and burned the pelts of the cats. "If only it were safe enough to swim," Thornear remarked to Amberleaf as they padded out of the warriors' den. They hadn't yet noticed Streampaw.

Jumpingspirit, Thornear's expectant mate, trudged over and threw her heavy body down beside Streampaw in the center of the clearing. "I cannot believe it," the queen rasped, grief clogging her usually cheerful tone. "She was only an apprentice. How could StarClan be so cruel? How could the _Twolegs _be so cruel?"

"Don't ask me," Bluepelt snarled in her blind anger at anything that could have caused this too-young death. "Ask those nasty, ruthless two-legged creatures. If only they'd fall in the lake and drown in that stuff."

Jumpingspirit nodded in agreement.

Lightstar took one look at Streampaw's body as he trotted out of his den with a large yawn. He set a grim expression on his face and pulled himself up onto the Smoothledge. "All cats old enough to catch their own fish gather beneath me for a Clan meeting."

Beetlewing padded mournfully out of his den. Duckfoot, the lone elder, shuffled over to the back of the slowly-forming crowd. Jumpingspirit and Bluepelt remained by Streampaw, barely able to look up. The clearing was tense; everybody clearly was waiting for Streampaw's parents to emerge from the warriors' den.

Silverfire and Stonedust sauntered side by side out of the warriors' den, gazes scanning the camp. Their noses twitched, and their faces twisted as they picked up the death-scent that had not yet been covered up by Beetlewing's special herbs. The couple then saw their daughter, and shouldered aside Bluepelt and Jumpingspirit to see her.

"No…" Silverfire cried in despair, throwing herself down on the earth beside Streampaw while her mate stood, eyes glistening.

Bluepelt felt terribly sick. _This doesn't make any sense. How could she die like this, in greenleaf? The prey is abundant, the weather is pleasant… it's just that stupid lake, and those idiotic Twolegs. _She flexed her claws as she imagined burying them deep in the flesh of those weird creatures.

"Streampaw is dead," Lightstar announced, grief adding a bumpy texture to his voice. "Duckfoot and…" He scanned the crowd, searching for another cat to help the elder.

"I'll do it," Bluepelt offered quietly, raising her thin-furred tail. "She was my apprentice."

"Duckfoot and Bluepelt, then, can bury her," Lightstar meowed gratefully. "Silverfire and Stonedust, do you want her to be buried now or do you want to take time to mourn her?"

Stonedust glared up at the leader. "Oh, so an apprentice isn't required to have a proper vigil?" He collapsed beside the deputy and his late kit. "We want to rest with her, just one last time. I can't believe we'll be leaving her in this wretched place soon."

"Well, you can't bring a dead body all the way-" Lightstar started lamely, but he was interrupted by Silverfire.

"Stop with the jokes. It's not the time."

"Where will we even be going?" Stonedust demanded, his tail brushing the ground lightly. "There's no place for us besides the lake."

Lightstar took a step forward on the Smoothledge, eyes narrowed. "You may be the Clan deputy's mate, but that serves you no right to speak to me that way. The lake no longer serves any of the Clans much good. We will find a new territory, and StarClan will help guide us there just as they did when they helped our ancestors find the lake from the forest. Every cat must move on."

Bluepelt ducked her head and exchanged a dull glance with Jumpingspirit.

**OoOoO**

"Here should be fine," Duckfoot huffed as he dropped Streampaw next to an area that wasn't laden with marshy plants like cattails. "Help me dig."

Bluepelt blinked back tears and nodded silently, waiting for the brown elder to scoop out some earth before joining in, claws scraping as she squinted in the dark, careful not to accidentally claw Duckfoot.

The cats concentrated heavily on their work until they had finished. Bluepelt was the first to glance up, but immediately she tensed. They had left Streampaw's body right beside Duckfoot, but now it was gone. Her head swished from the bare spot to the freshly-dug grave. Had a fox taken Streampaw while they were digging?

Duckfoot turned and snorted. "Clever, Bluepelt. Very clever." He glared at her. "Now where is she? Where did you put Streampaw?"

"I- I didn't put her anywhere," Bluepelt squeaked, now terrified. She cringed away as Duckfoot reared up on her like an angry horse.

"This isn't a joke," he snapped, tail lashing as he dropped onto all fours again. Bluepelt examined his sharp claws, which were still unsheathed and seemed to have grown twice their regular size. She shuddered; was that a tint of blood she saw on the tips?

"I know it's- it's not a joke," Bluepelt stammered, barely able to find her words. Anything she could say was deformed due to her heavy trembling. Duckfoot looked as though enough fury was fueling him to kill her right there on the spot.

Abruptly, Duckfoot relaxed and gestured toward the gaping hole, nostrils flared. "Fine then. Let's fill this back in and just tell the others we buried her. What else can we do, say she was ripped open by a savage creature?" The elder turned away from her and started shoving dirt back in.

Bluepelt stood back up shakily and commenced to assist him. This went on for a few moments when the warrior felt herself falling. She screeched and twisted to stare up, out of the grave, up at Duckfoot were was glaring at her with such hatred. _We're not enemies! He was just some old cat who retired while I was an apprentice. What's his issue? _"What was that for?" she cried, struggling to climb back up out of the hole. It appeared to have gotten deeper than what they dug; in fact, it had, but what sense did that make?

"You killed Streampaw," Duckfoot snarled, foamy saliva flying off his lips in droplets infested with bubbles. "Now you deserve to die."

"What?" Bluepelt demanded. "I just… I…" She then realized something. _I should have watched her closer. If I had been, I would have quickly instructed her not to drink the water. It _is _all my fault. I'll go to the Dark Forest and perish for sure! _

"That's right," Duckfoot informed her, his large paws stamping the ground much in similarity to an exasperated rabbit. "I shall bury you alive. I will say to the others that you have drowned in the lake's deadly waters." He pushed some crumbly stuff into the hole. It landed on Bluepelt's head and slid down her muzzle.

"Wait, do you really have to-" she tried, starting to have second thoughts, but it was too late. More earth tumbled into the grave, blinding Bluepelt as it fell into her eyes. A squeal of pain escaped her parted lips, but it swiftly was cut off as more dust filled her mouth, caking in her teeth and tongue until they had completely lost all moisture, sliding down her throat, choking her with an interminable pain…

**OoOoO**

A sharp shove roused Bluepelt, and she moaned, feeling the ache of her limbs as she rolled onto her other side. Was that a sharp rock jabbing her shoulder, forever embedded in the soil? Or was it…

"Bluepelt, would you please get up? Are you too sore from yesterday?"

Bluepelt's eyelids fluttered open. Shock fell upon her as she recognized the roof of the warriors' den, the woven twigs and protective bay leaves greeting her happily. The warm, thick smell of sleepiness loomed around her. She wasn't surrounded by age-old dust and long-buried boulders; she was alive!

"Bluepelt?"

The warrior rolled over and met the round, slightly exasperated eyes of Streampaw, her living apprentice. Bluepelt gazed at her fondly, astounded. _It was all just a dream. That patrol never happened... Streampaw never died… Duckfoot never buried me alive…_

"Yesterday? What happened yesterday?" A jumble of shaky words left her lips roughly, and Bluepelt blinked slowly, trying to contemplate whatever it was she just said so that her apprentice could understand it better.

"Um, don't you remember?" Streampaw snorted good-naturedly. "You, like, saved my life! I almost took a drink from the lake, but you turned and stopped me before my tongue could even touch the water. Then we started messing around and chased each other all over RiverClan territory, like idiots." She smiled at the memory of it all. "Right?"

Bluepelt thought back, but no matter what she did she couldn't determine ever running around the area with Streampaw. "How did I end up in here?"

"Once we, Amberleaf, and Thornear returned to camp, we were both exhausted and collapsed into our nests. For once I didn't think about how lonely I was in the apprentices' den; I was only out like the sun setting under the horizon. You must still be too tired to recall yet. Oh well. Anyway, you want to go train?" She bounced on her paws, freshly-groomed silver tabby fur catching a ray of sunlight from a crack in the ceiling, illuminating her pelt into a beautiful pale gray. "I have a good feeling about today. Maybe there will be some fish! It's very nice out."

"Alright, alright, just give me a few moments," Bluepelt assured her with an amused purr. "I'll be right out."

After Streampaw left, Bluepelt sat in her nest, dumbfounded. _What a dream! I must have been within that alternate universe all night. To think what a difference a few heartbeats can make… _She shuddered. The bluish she-cat rasped her tongue over her paw and ran it over her face, licked down any last bits of ruffled fur, then trotted out of the den, just starting to feel her legs as memories she had truly physically lived came back to her.

**OoOoO**

"Do we really have to leave it?" Streampaw murmured. She cast a disheartened glance across the shimmering lake water as the sun tipped behind the jagged outlines of the mountains against the darkening sky; another day had come to an end. Another day closer to leaving the lake.

"What choice do we have?" Bluepelt sighed softly, rolling her paw in the small pile of minnows she and Streampaw had managed to catch that day, but only one to two cats could swallow that down within a few heartbeats. "We've been here many moons anyway. I mean… look at the pathetic load we brought in today. And the green film on the lake? You… you could have gotten really sick if you had ingested the lake water. It's not good for swimming, and the river connects to it. Soon that gross stuff will contaminate the river as well."

Streampaw shook her head. "I mean, obviously StarClan approves this, and I can't argue with them. But… I always thought I'd grow up here, complete my training, and have some kits with a loving mate. I suppose now it'll happen in this fantasized 'new place'- but, honestly, how long will it take for us to get there?" Bluepelt listened intently to her apprentice's words, which were fairly wise for her young age. "What if I grow too old during the journey to start a family once I get there? Or train an apprentice of my own?"

Bluepelt cocked her head and gazed at Streampaw, a fierce look in her eyes. "I don't know what is in our future, but you can trust that I will be there to protect you every pawstep of the way."

The silver tabby smiled and licked down a ruffled patch of fur on her chest. Then she met her mentor's warm look. "I'd like that."

**OoOoO**

"What does he want now?" Amberleaf groaned as she and Bluepelt trotted over from the pathetically small water vole they had been sharing. Bluepelt herself was honestly relieved to get away from that disgusting dry taste of land prey- unfortunately, it was what the RiverClan cats had to resort to ever since the poison starting running into the main river that snaked through their territory. The smell was everywhere, and the thought that she was breathing in chemicals made Bluepelt have a deal of trouble getting to sleep each night.

Lightstar was standing atop the Smoothledge, his golden fur swishing in the faint whisper of a breeze which luckily brought a trivial amount of fresh air. Silverfire and Beetlewing sat just under their leader, faces still as stagnant water and free of emotion or opinion. Stonedust nodded to his mate and sat down near her, while Thornear helped Jumpingspirit out of the nursery. Duckfoot licked his chops and padded over towards the crowd, and Streampaw bounced over to touch noses with her parents. Bluepelt sighed as she took her place in the heart of the small but strong group. _What's left of RiverClan is certainly doing well. But how long will that last?_

A quick clear of the throat from Lightstar made every feline's head snap up and stare in his direction. Lightstar's rump hit the Smoothledge as he settled himself. When he was finally ready to speak, he ran his slim green slits of eyes over the cats. "The day we leave the lake looms closer on the horizon. Never would I think I'd see this day, but now as the prey grows more scarce and the Twoleg smell thickens, it is more believable.

"I would like to leave this camp in good condition as we leave- as good as it can be in case another animal moves in. Now, this may sound strange, but think: would you want to leave your former home sodden with the poison, with each plant sagging low, browned and crunchy like bracken and dead ferns? Neither would I. So therefore, we are going to build the dens to their strongest. We're going to improve our camp so much that it'll seem as though nothing but our scent was ever here."

**OoOoO**

_Watch for the sign of the Colorful Sky. _The words seemed to be trapped in Bluepelt's head ever since she heard them on the incoming breeze a little while ago. She sighed softly and slathered more dry earth onto the marshy ground on the bank of the river. The chemical scent hung around her in a moist cloud, causing her eyes to stream with a tear-like liquid.

_What is the Colorful Sky? What will it do?_

* * *

**EDIT: I just realized now that I resurrected Duckfoot. Oopsies! *shrugs***

**Meh, rushed chapter ending is rushed chapter ending. I'm a weird person; I try to limit most chapters to ten pages in Word. Oh well, I got the Colorful Sky omen in, so that's good. Prepare for a male POV in ShadowClan next…**


	6. The Black Shadow

**Meet Blackfang…**

* * *

"Get up, you lazy sack of bones," Scarletblood snapped. "We're gettin' all the prey we can before it runs out."

Blackfang sighed and sat up to run a few long strokes of his tongue down the sleek black fur that ran down his legs. He was a quiet tom, never one to complain. Some believed that he had the calm nature of a medicine cat; but no, that was the job for Blackfang's sister, Tallpine. The gray-eyed tom was a fine hunter and fearsome fighter. With just one blow to the ear or nose Blackfang sent any enemy recoiling with a wince of pain.

"Come on, come on," the other tomcat urged before storming out of the warriors' den.

Blackfang ran his tongue over his chops and stretched one last time before departing from his den.

Outside, Scarletblood, Beesting, and Dullnose were gathered by the camp exit. "Finally!" Scarletblood cried, tail lashing as he stopped his pacing. He and Beesting plunged into the undergrowth with Dullnose and Blackfang on their tails.

**OoOoO**

"Our first stop will be here," Scarletblood announced as he drew to a collected halt. Beesting and Dullnose disappeared into the bushes in opposite directions, while the black-furred patrol leader strode forward. Then he stopped and glared back at Blackfang. "What are you waiting for, youngster? Get on with it! Find some prey. I know it may seem difficult, but-"

Scarletblood's demanding, blatant voice faded away as Blackfang retraced his pawsteps a few fox-lengths and then veered left, mouth open and ears erect as he tried to sniff out some prey.

Being a ShadowClan cat, Blackfang didn't particularly like hunting during the day, when trivial rays of sunlight crashed through the thick cover of pine trees atop his head. It seemed to scare every bit of prey. Blackfang wrinkled his nose as he strode over a marshy area. He also disliked the feeling of muddy water squishing between his toes. _This territory at times seems more suited for RiverClan cats, with their webbed paws and fish-like tendencies, _Blackfang thought indignantly as he picked his way over the last bit of cattails and moist grass.

It was difficult to believe that soon, not a single Clan would occupy the lake territory. Blackfang often found himself depressed, even during his happiest times with his mate, Tabbystripe, or his playful yet solemn sister, Tallpine. At least ShadowClan's piece of land still had much to offer; Blackfang was unsure about the others. _If only there was a little bit more prey and a less abundant amount of illness, we wouldn't have to leave. _

Just then, a snap made a tiny explosion in the air. Blackfang felt the vibration of the frog's massive jump from a crackly old leaf to perch at the top of a sagging blade of grass. The warrior instantly flattened his body against the ground and focused his sharp vision on the frog. The slimy amphibian's chest thumped with another _ribbbit _and that was when Blackfang made his leap.

His paws closed in on the wet animal, and it squirmed in his grasp but Blackfang got a firm enough grip to dig his deadly canines into the frog's flesh.

"Well done." Blackfang spun around, fur raised, a bit startled by Beesting's sudden appearance. The dappled warrior chuckled warmly and picked up the squirrel he had apparently previously dropped at his paws to speak. "Why don't you go take that to your mate? I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

Blackfang hesitated, the fresh-kill still dangling precariously from his jaws.

"Go ahead," Beesting nudged him gently. "Scarletblood won't mind. You were woken up far too early." He squinted up at the wavering sunlight slicing through the dense pines. "None of us like hunting at this time anyway."

With that Blackfang dipped his head respectfully to the older warrior and bounded back towards camp, relishing the touch of dry, orange pine needles on his paw pads. Excitement at seeing Tabbystripe made him shudder happily.

**OoOoO**

"Blackfang! Over here!" Tabbystripe's sleek brown tail crawled into Blackfang's vision line, and a purr right away started rumbling in his throat as he made his way over to his newly-expecting mate. "Oh, wonderful! Did you catch that just for me?" Tabbystripe meowed, gingerly taking the frog from the black tom, who rubbed his cheek against hers and opened his mouth for the first time that day to speak.

"I sure did. Beesting let me return early." His sophisticated voice made Tabbystripe laugh, and she tore into the prey hungrily. Blackfang leaned forward and lapped her ear again as she ate. "How are the kits?"

Tabbystripe snorted. "How about you ask them?" With a friendly eye roll, she continued eating, Blackfang watching her carefully chew then swallow each morsel. Eventually the queen was finished and she stared up at Blackfang, amber eyes shining with sadness.

"What is it? Was it not good?" Blackfang asked nervously.

"It was delicious- one of the most amazing things I've ever tasted," Tabbystripe assured him. "I just can't stop thinking about how we're going to be leaving this perfectly fine pine forest to waste."

Blackfang noticeably relaxed and slumped down beside the tabby she-cat with another heaving sigh. "I know, right? I was thinking about it a little earlier while I was hunting. I mean, just because things aren't going so well for the other Clans doesn't mean ShadowClan must go, never to return."

Tabbystripe nodded. "Yes, yes, yes! We could definitely survive on our own, as a single Clan! It's perfectly reasonable. I'm surprised Slashstar agreed so willingly at the Gathering, especially before Lightstar."

Blackfang shrugged. "He would have appeared foolish to the others if he hadn't gone with the other leaders sooner. But who knows; if we all waited any longer something terrible could happen. A poisoning could spread around in our prey, a worse disease could germinate within the water we drink… who knows."

"I suppose so." The striped she-cat's eyes glazed over and she stared at nothing exactly. "I just always thought we'd raise our family here, after I found out I was expecting kits."

"What if you don't survive the journey?" Blackfang's question was blurted out, and his muscles tensed the heartbeat the words left his lips. "Sorry, I, I-"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'll be fine. The kits will be fine." Tabbystripe smirked at him. "Well, maybe one or the other, but…"

Blackfang lashed his tail over her mouth. "Don't say such a thing. I'll protect all of you with all my worth. You won't have to worry a thing the moment you step out of Clan territory for the final time."

**OoOoO**

"One day. Just one day until we leave the lake," Slashstar growled, claws scraping the Meetingledge. His gaze swept over his cats hastily. "You all are ready, I assume? There's no time left to bid our goodbyes, or…" He sighed and sat down again, running his paws softly against the stone. "I cannot believe this is happening."

Blackfang leaned into Tabbystripe, comforting purrs rolling off his tongue despite the pain that had consumed ShadowClan ever since the joint deaths of Birdpaw and Marshpad, who had both suffered from greencough in a sudden case. Stalkingpaw, Birdpaw's littermate, was devastated and could barely carry his weight around the camp anymore.

"What do you mean by bidding our goodbyes?" Dullnose called out, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Well, this is just an idea, but…" Slashstar hesitated before going on. "I mean, you know, if we all say farewell to those who have passed before us."

"You mean the cats buried out by that copse of oak trees at the edge of our territory?" Stripepelt, the deputy, inquired. Before the leader could answer, however, he was already on his paws. "I can lead a patrol to-"

Slashstar shook his head vigorously. "No thanks, I would like to have that job of leading the cats there." He jumped down from the Meetingledge and made his way to the camp exit. "Group one of cats to say bye to their deceased loved ones, come with me!"

"Did you ever notice how strangely Slashstar speaks when he's hiding something?" Tabbystripe mewed as she slowly rose to her paws.

"He's hiding his pain. Probably wants to say bye to his mommy," Blackfang responded with a snort. He stood as well and glanced at his mate. "Want to go?"

"I suppose so. My legs could use a good walk through the forest," Tabbystripe agreed.

**OoOoO**

"Alright, so here we are. Stop and say your farewells," Slashstar announced, voice cracking as he sniffed around until he came to one particular lump of earth. _His mother, _Blackfang thought as he weaved his way past Beesting and Scarletblood to come to the place where his own parents had been buried.

"Do you miss them?" Tabbystripe murmured softly. She ran her tail down Blackfang's spine gently, and he shuddered sadly.

"I do. Besides us, of course, Waterlily and Frogcroak were the best parents any cat could ask for." Blackfang ducked his head and gazed down at the small graves. Though his parents were happily watching him now in StarClan, Blackfang felt guilty for just leaving the bodies they had lived in for so long here.

"If only we could bring 'em with us," Tabbystripe joked mildly. She left his side, and Blackfang glanced up to see where she was going. His mate stopped a few rows up, drawing faint circles in the crumbly earth with her paw. "Here rests my parents," she explained as Blackfang caught up to her.

"They died when we were so young…" Blackfang murmured. "Cherryswirl and Sunray, right?"

"Sun_fur_, silly, but yes, they were the cats who raised me."

"Alright!" Slashstar repeated over the loud murmurs that had risen from the cats nuzzling the graves of their loved ones. "Time to leave. Stripepelt is taking the final group here any heartbeat now." The dark brown tabby's green eyes flashed as he led Blackfang and the others back to camp.

**OoOoO**

Pricklepelt, the other ShadowClan queen at the moment, marched up to Blackfang and Tabbystripe as they emerged from the protective thistle-bound tunnel that led to the camp.

"Depressing, was it?" she meowed flatly, matching the mates stride by stride. Blackfang and Tabbystripe growled quietly in unison. Nobody in the Clan really liked Pricklepelt anymore; ever since she chose Scarletblood as her mate she had become stuck-up and rude, her blatantly loud voice echoing around the clearing almost constantly.

"Perhaps," Blackfang mumbled. "But it was satisfying to say goodbye to Waterlily and Frogcroak one last time until I see them in StarClan."

Pricklepelt snorted at the mention of their warrior ancestors. "_Pfft_, StarClan."

Tabbystripe halted in front of the nursery. She had been yawning tiredly a few heartbeats before but was now very alert, glaring steamily at Pricklepelt. "What is so amusing about StarClan?" she demanded, attempting to keep her hackles down. Blackfang knew how sensitive Tabbystripe was about StarClan- some cats were just like that about the warrior code and their ancestors, and Tabbystripe was one of them.

"Come on!" Pricklepelt protested, sitting down and readily facing her denmate as though she argued about big things like this each heartbeat of her life. "StarClan is okay with us leaving the lake? They're only mouse-brains at this point." She paused to allow a long, snake-like tongue to slither over her chest fur. "Besides, we're perfectly fine in our territory here, but StarClan is making us put it to waste. It's ridiculous."

Tabbystripe bristled, and Blackfang stood firmly by his mate. "So you've lost all faith in StarClan?"

"Why, look who's finally spoken up!" Pricklepelt purred meanly. "To answer your question, maybe I have, maybe I haven't. But if you ask me, they're all idiots if they think us departing from our home is a good idea." The brown queen stepped into the nursery with a grunt, therefore ending the debate.

"I can't believe her!" Tabbystripe exclaimed, astonishment making her eyes widen to twice their regular size. "Oh well, good night, sweet." She lapped Blackfang's ear and then disappeared into the dim den before the black-furred tom could say anything else.

It wasn't until Blackfang was curled up in his nest a bit later that night after a few several fitful sleeps that he realized something.

Tomorrow was the big day.

**OoOoO**

Next dawn came far too soon for Blackfang. It just didn't seem right; to leave so abruptly? Maybe the cats were ready for a new home. Maybe they were ready for a fresh horizon to stare at each morning, and a new night sky to gaze up at each evening.

Now he was pacing outside of the warriors' den, up earlier than any other cat. He had roused probably late last night; and, unable to return to sleep, he had been out here since. Blackfang regretted not taking one last stroll through his territory, to catch a frog or two. Never again would he be able to think normally of this place; not that he had too much time left there.

"What are you doing up?" A honey-sweet voice greeted Blackfang, and he glanced to his left to see his sister, Tallpine, padding up to him. The black she-cat was sweet and calm as most medicine cats were; she almost seemed as though she belonged in the collected and peaceful RiverClan rather than ShadowClan, but Tallpine was happy enough where she was.

"Couldn't sleep." Blackfang scuffled his paws on the ground, creating miniature dust-storms.

"Ah. I'm usually up a little later than this time as well." Tallpine settled next to her littermate and squeezed his shoulders comfortingly with her strong tail. "I don't understand how any cat can sleep under these circumstances. I mean, we're _leaving _the lake today!" She batted away a stray wisp of black fur that had caught onto her nose. "Stalkingpaw and I will have to carry all the herbs we have." The she-cat sighed. "Not that he'll be up to it, not after his loss." Tallpine stared at Blackfang, green eyes glittering solemnly. "Remember our brother?"

"Oh, Croakkit? H- how could I forget?" Blackfang answered back. His eyelids slipped over his virtually clear gray eyes and he exhaled, thinking back to kithood.

Poor little Croakkit, well, croaked; he hadn't even survived to apprenticeship. He caught a terrible disease that was extremely rare, especially in kits; Blackfang still remembered vividly his brother's shrill yowls of agony, writhing and squirming in the nest he shared with their mother, Waterlily.

Blackkit and Tallkit were kept away from their youngest sibling once it was obvious he would never get better; however, the victim's littermates were not told this. One fateful night, Croakkit wandered out of the nursery blindly, mewing loudly and revealing his presence to predators of the night. The next morning Blackfang and his sister were told of their brother's most likely brutal death, taken by a bear or fox. The moment Blackpaw received his apprentice name, Tallkit requested to become the medicine cat apprentice, in honor of Croakkit so that she could help future sufferers of any illness get better.

A pang hit Blackfang's belly as though he had swallowed a stone. He had never really thought much about Croakkit, thinking too much about his own to-be kits as well as getting an apprentice sometime, not to mention the Clans leaving. Tallpine seemed to sense his sorrow, and decided not to broach the subject anymore.

"It just isn't right." Blackfang glowered down at his paws. "I mean, did StarClan even give you any omens?"

Blackfang's heart sank as Tallpine shook her head grimly. "There's been no apparent signs from them," she reported.

"It's not fair," Blackfang raised his head and yowled to the treetops like a lost kit. "I want to raise my family here. I want to live here until I die. I-"

"Blackfang-"

"I want to watch my kits grow up into strong, healthy warriors. I want to serve my Clan for many moons, hunting in _this _territory beside _this lake _in this world. I want to retire to be an elder and slowly grow old with Tabbystripe by my side. I want to live to see a thousand kits be born and die. I _need _this life, Tallpine, and I don't want anything different."

"You have no choice," Tallpine whispered with a wince as Blackfang bared his fangs. "Decisions have been made. The Clans must stick together through everything. We must not make the mistake we did with- well, you wouldn't know."

Gray eyes narrowed and flashed as Blackfang growled, "What wouldn't I know?"

Tallpine swung her head back and forth vigorously. "Really, it's nothing important for you to worry about. Anyway, the other Clans are struggling more than us. The lake has been poisoned by Twolegs again, and-"

"They do that all the time. What difference does it make?"

"It's stronger and even more deadly. Most can smell it from their nest." The black-furred medicine cat wrinkled her nose. "Speaking of that, how can you not scent it? It's wafting around here right now."

"Nonsense!" Blackfang spat, leaping to his paws. He whipped his massive, broad head around to face his sister. "Follow me." He plunged into the thorn-lined tunnel that led into ShadowClan territory.

"Where are you going?" Tallpine called faintly, but nevertheless she pursued after her usually non-disruptive brother. What was he up to now?

**OoOoO**

"Look," Blackfang ordered harshly, flicking one front paw roughly in direction of the water. A thick green film had settled atop the usually deep blue, healthy lake. "It's completely fine," Tallpine's littermate went on, though his voice grew weaker from doubt with each word spoken. The she-cat could see that Blackfang's white muzzle shriveled disdainfully.

"Clearly it's not, mouse-brain," she mewed mildly in reply. Tallpine gripped a stray leaf in her jaws and leaned forward to carefully dip it in the water. Blackfang observed her back away and drop the crumbly russet-colored object on the dry, crunchy grass. The black warrior shifted uncomfortably. The leaf's edges were curling up, almost as though it was cringing from the chemical water that it had been subjected to.

"Well, we don't eat fish, so it's fine," Blackfang mumbled as he turned away and started back toward camp. The sun was now peeking over the edge of the horizon, a shy apprentice at his first Gathering. Cats would start waking up soon to meet at the Gathering island. When Blackfang didn't hear his sister's pawsteps coming after him, he swiveled back around and blinked in surprise when he caught her staring at him, her intense green gaze glimmering with apprehension and reluctance.

"Blackfang, don't you see?" Tallpine murmured this quietly, pushing her leaf tester into the water gingerly. "Our prey drinks this water. The frogs and lizards live for the lake and its moist, marshy bank, as well as the few mammals that walk through our territory. We'd be doomed if we stayed here." She bounded forward swiftly until she was by her brother's side. "I know you hardly complain. Could you stop doing it now? We're leaving, and that's that." She went forward a couple more strides and glanced back at Blackfang. "Now, what do you say about one last race on our beloved home turf?"

**OoOoO**

Slashstar held his head high, but Blackfang could tell that the Clan leader was trembling. Stripepelt, Beesting, and some of the other warriors trudged out of their den, all looking a bit shocked to see Blackfang awake already. _They have no idea. _Tallpine and Stalkingpaw footslogged their way out of the medicine den, jaws full of herbs and shoulders lined with the carefully-placed medicine. _I'll help them out later, _Blackfang thought. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the nursery.

Tabbystripe and Pricklepelt emerged, both giving one last mournful look back at their old den. Then they went to their mates.

"Today is the day where we leave for no real reason," Tabbystripe muttered into Blackfang's ear, but all he gave was a short nod.

"If everybody is here, then we shall leave," Slashstar meowed after clearing his throat, clearly stalling for time, any last extra heartbeat in their soon-to-be-former camp. "We all ready?"

Disheartened murmurs and head-shakes of sad agreement rippled through the clearing like a stone dropped in water. Blackfang and Tabbystripe were some of the last to speak out.

"Very well then." Slashstar made his way down the Meetingledge one last time, seeming to take his time so he could relish this feeling.

When he was finally at the camp exit, he took a deep breath. "Goodbye, home." Slashstar's tabby tail melted into the undergrowth, and one by one each ShadowClan member followed him.

Blackfang made sure he was the ultimately last the depart. He turned back around and ran his gaze over the clearing. He realized now how barren and empty it looked- the dusty earth in the center was worn, a huge crack ran down the Meetingledge like a vein, and most of the dens now simply looked like splintered, rotting logs. _This can't provide for us anymore._ "Goodbye," Blackfang mewed.

**OoOoO**

A milky yellow sunrise greeted the ShadowClan group as they ventured into the open. When Blackfang squinted across the infected lake, he could spot WindClan trekking unhurriedly across the moor. Another patrol, bulging with the added-on felines, was just leaving the other forest; this was most likely ThunderClan.

Scarletblood was assisting Pricklepelt, who was closer to giving birth than Tabbystripe, across the large boulders that dotted the landscape at the very end of ShadowClan territory. Tabbystripe's sigh was sodden with annoyance as she stubbed her paw on a sneaky gray-brown rock that had been camouflaged against the brittle grass.

Slashstar and Stripepelt stalked at the head of the group, chatting quietly amongst themselves. Dullnose and Beesting were helping the medicine cat and her apprentice tote the herbs. These were the cats that Blackfang would be travelling with for the next moon or so. _Plus more_, he thought as he skimmed over the land ahead of them; all of RiverClan was already gathered at the fallen tree-bridge crossing from mainland to the Gathering island.

Blackfang suppressed a gag as he entered RiverClan territory. Tabbystripe let out a low wheeze as she pressed onward beside him. "You alright?" he mumbled, resorting again to his usually quiet self, though inside he was not calmed down yet.

"I'm fine," Tabbystripe replied, clenching her teeth. "Just this extra weight giving me some trouble."

The cats leapt across several small streams until they came to the huge river that cut directly through RiverClan's territory from the lake. The fast-flowing water was dull and green with the poisonous Twoleg liquid.

Slashstar glared down the bank for a better place to cross. Blackfang stood on his toes to see above the heads in front of him. The water that the group was currently standing in front of was rushing rapidly, white foam bubbling at the side.

"Down here!" Dullnose called; flicking his tail in the direction of a large chunk of wood appeared to have been thrown across the gushing creek, most likely in a storm.

"Perfect," Beesting agreed, carefully making his way after the dark gray warrior, balancing a bundle of herbs on his muzzle and between his ears.

Blackfang pushed his way to the front of the enlarged patrol, nose twitching as he gazed down at the murky brook. It was definitely more shallow here; the black tom could very faintly see the blur of gray and brown pebbles beneath the constant ripple.

"Who would like to test the bridge?" Slashstar meowed. The Clan leader stood at the start of the thick wood-bridge, paws planted firmly on the slick grass.

"I can do it," Stalkingpaw mumbled, dropping his herbs and padding to stand beside the dark brown tabby at the edge of the bridge. "If I fall, it's best I die to be with my mother, Spicefeather and Birdpaw in StarClan."

Tallpine stepped forward in a rush and opened her mouth to protest, but Stripepelt waved her away with his tail. "It's his choice, Tallpine. If he dies now, well; let's just say you can't change his destiny."

Blackfang's pale gray eyes narrowed as his sister backed away into the crowd, ears flattened.

"Here goes nothing," Stalkingpaw muttered to nobody in particular before placing one shaky brown paw on the slippery wood. The apprentice struggled the rest of the way onto the bridge until he was completely on it. There was no turning back now.

Stalkingpaw continued cautiously, nimble paws skillfully stepping, sliding, and shuffling across. The young tomcat made it all the way as his Clanmates waited with bated breath.

One paw, two paws, on the other side. Stalkingpaw was now confident, of course. He swiftly placed a third unsheathed paw onto the grass on the other side. Blackfang squinted, heart racing. Tallpine's apprentice lifted his fourth paw from the wood. Blackfang blinked hard, and the next thing he saw when he reopened his eyes was Stalkingpaw in the water.

"StarClan, no!" Tallpine cried. Without thinking, she scrambled onto the bridge, fur and paws flailing as she did her best not to slip. Stalkingpaw moaned, fighting the water only with weak strokes. His eyes were already half-closed as each movement of his grew more slow and difficult.

All of the other felines were too shocked to move, except for Blackfang. The white-muzzled tom sprang forward like a frog, landing clumsily on the bridge. He was surprised at how Stalkingpaw had managed to get all the way across before; Blackfang was sliding all around helplessly.

Somehow he arrived at the other end of the bridge, where Tallpine was reaching out one leg precariously for her apprentice. Stalkingpaw appeared to not even notice her efforts to save him; he was already drifting away. _That poison is taking a toll on him. If we don't hurry, he's a goner! _

"Get out of the way," he snarled to his sister. Tallpine's head snapped up, her expression reading unfiltered amazement "I said, get out of the way!" Blackfang demanded again, and this time his order seemed to register in his littermate's brain. She jumped off the bridge, collapsing onto the peaty grass of the opposite bank where the remainder of the ShadowClan cats were watching desperately.

"Help…" Stalkingpaw meowed, voice faint and eyes glazed. Blackfang's stomach tightened. If the medicine cat apprentice survived at this point, he would be terribly too sick to continue travel._ But that doesn't mean I shouldn't save him. _

Blackfang spotted a peeling strip of bark from the wood at his paws, and he tugged it off in one swift motion. The tom noted how long it was, and realized that this way he'd be able to reach Stalkingpaw. The black warrior thrust the thin stick out toward the brown tom, who barely noticed it.

_On to my next plan, _Blackfang thought, tossing the strip aside. That's when he felt another presence beside him.

Tiny blue eyes twinkled; black patches shined dark and the white fur glimmered, spangled with stars. Blackfang recognized Croakkit, his little brother, and purred as warmth spread through his body.

"I'll help you, don't worry!" Croakkit squeaked. With surprising strength, the kit jumped forward and plunged into the water. Blackfang glanced at Tallpine, who had her eyes trained on Croakkit, astounded.

The black-and-white kit treaded the water skillfully like a RiverClan cat until he was at Stalkingpaw's side.

"Here's where you come in," Croakkit announced to Blackfang over the monstrous roar of the water. _Why is it thicker now? The water was shallow to begin with, but still Stalkingpaw struggles._ Nevertheless, Blackfang leaned in until his muzzle was close to Croakkit. "By joining StarClan I became stronger. But I still need you to help me. I'm going to drag him to the bank, and you pull him up."

Blackfang nodded and carefully padded to the edge of the rushing river. Stalkingpaw was tossed by the rough waves that had increased rather suddenly; somehow Croakkit managed to keep ahold of the much bigger tom's scruff. Soon the kit had brought Stalkingpaw to Blackfang's reach, and then black-pelted warrior tugged him ashore. Blackfang was about to murmur his thanks to his brother when Croakkit scrambled onto land and rested against him, his little body already dried with the magic of StarClan.

"Watch for the sign of the Colorful Sky. It will lead you to your new home," the dappled kit whispered before fading away on the next incoming breeze.

* * *

**Have you missed Redfur? Get ready for him in the next chapter!**


	7. The Auburn Kit

**Snowstepthemagnificent: Done ^-^ Enjoy!**

* * *

A thin wail came from the nursery. Redfur winced and turned his head away from the stringy mouse he was picking at. The ginger tom had tried his best to down every morsel to build up the strength to protect his Clan, but it was hard to have his meal while Brightfrost was in labor.

The white she-cat had started to give birth a long while ago, when it was still light outside. Redfur glared up at the stars twinkling in the pure night sky. _Take her out of her misery! _he silently pleaded his ancestors, but it seemed to be no use as another yowl was flung at the cats in the gorge clearing.

Foxsnarl had been held captive in the warriors' den as ordered by Frecklewish once it got dark. The russet tom had given every cat such a headache from the deafening sound of his claws scraping on the stone ground. He had also been bothering the medicine cat and struggling queen each time he poked his head inside the nursery cave, which was every few heartbeats.

As he sat, Redfur wondered how many kits Brightfrost and Foxsnarl were having. Judging by the size of the white cat's stomach the past moon, it was at least four. She had been the plumpest cat in SkyClan, at least, until now. Redfur's belly rumbled, and the young warrior forced himself to bury his muzzle back in the miniscule, pathetic mouse again. He had caught it himself earlier that day, and it had seemed delicious at the time, but now… Redfur wasn't so sure.

"Let me out!" the screech belonged to Foxsnarl, his strained voice echoing off the walls of rock.

His sister, Fireflower, snarled and pushed her persistent littermate back into the warriors' den. "You have to wait, Foxsnarl," she replied. "You know that."

"I have to check on her," Foxsnarl protested. "_You know that_," he added, clearly mocking the orange she-cat.

Fireflower ignored him with a loud sigh as she shot a glance at Redfur. He tilted his head, wondering what she wanted. Her eyes were beseeching, and he fell for it. The young tom got to his paws and padded over to the arguing pair.

"What do you need?" he inquired, peering over Fireflower's bony shoulders. In the faint light within the cave, he could observe Foxsnarl pushing against his sibling's back, butting her like a goat.

"What do you _think _I need?" Fireflower responded hotly. Without apologizing, she jerked her head back in the direction of her brother. "Can you take over a bit?"

Redfur nodded, though reluctance made his paws drag. "Sure," he meowed, sliding into Fireflower's place as the she-cat moved on.

"Thanks. You're certainly valiant!" The ginger warrior trotted away to stare at the skimpy fresh-kill pile.

Suddenly a chilling voice whispered through the air, coming from behind Redfur. The youthful tom stiffened as Foxsnarl spoke. "You listen to me, kitty. Something is going wrong with the birth, and trust me, I know when Brightfrost is in distress. Let me go, and I'll take all your patrols for a moon."

"No," Redfur argued, resisting the urge to turn around and claw the persuasive to-be father's nose off. "Your sister instructed me to guard you here. And-"

"But-"

"You know what she said-"

"Oh great, another '_you know_'-"

"You know what she said, and you know that Frecklewish ordered you away. Trust _me_, Brightfrost will be much better if you just leave her alone for now."

Redfur let out a quiet cry of pain as he felt claws unintentionally dig into his tail. "Brightfrost needs me! She needs moral support, and only I can give that to her, not any dumb medicine cat, not any other warrior."

Foxsnarl's protest was drowned out by the loud announcement. "Foxsnarl!" Frecklewish called. Before Redfur could get out of the way, the older tom knocked him over and streaked across the clearing.

Out of annoyance, Redfur picked himself up and followed Foxsnarl to the nursery.

Right away, the sickening tang of death and blood hit Redfur. He choked and turned away while Foxsnarl padded into the den.

"Foxsnarl, I'm so sorry," Redfur heard Frecklewish mew solemnly. Her tone was thickened from grief. "I could only save your little daughter. But look, she has your russet coat-"

The hugest shriek Redfur ever heard, even louder than Brightfrost's previous cries, interrupted the elderly medicine cat. Redfur glanced up and forced himself to peer into the nursery.

Foxsnarl was bent over a blood-soaked body, chest heaving as he prepared to unleash another howl of displeasure. Not two, not three, but four tiny bodies were cuddled against their mother's unmoving chest; only one squirmed and showed life. Frecklewish had dull rings hanging under her eyes, her twig-thin body sagging.

"What happened… ?" Redfur asked, not able to go any further into the cave. He couldn't find the willpower to; after all, he'd be stepping in the blood of Brightfrost.

"I tried," Frecklewish squeaked like a kit. Her eyes slammed shut again, and she pulled in a raspy lungful of hot air. "Nothing was going right. The first two were stillbirths; the last two had life, but the fourth one I couldn't get to breathe properly for anything. I managed to bring the third-born to her mother, but the next time I glanced up, Brightfrost w- was gone."

Redfur gaped. Brightfrost had been so healthy! It didn't make any sense.

Slowly Frecklewish turned to Foxsnarl. "Your daughter can live on the small amount of milk Brightfrost still has before it dries up." The medicine cat leaned forward to tenderly guide the newborn to her dead mother's belly, but Foxsnarl hissed, causing the speckled she-cat to cringe away, and did it himself.

Redfur watched the tiny kit, among the seemingly endless pools of blood, suckle. He wondered why any cat would want to stay there, but before he could do anything else Frecklewish nudged him out of the nursery.

A light rain peppered the rusty-orange stone clearing. Redfur, relieved, lifted his scarlet paws to the sky, watching Brightfrost's blood slide off his paws in the form of tears. He flattened his ears, shuddering as another wave of grief hit him.

"Well?" Fireflower murmured, stepping toward Redfur and Frecklewish tentatively. "How are Brightfrost and the kits?" At hearing that, Frecklewish did the best her old body could do in running- it ended up more like a limp- across the gorge to her den, leaving just Redfur to give the ginger she-cat a heart-wrenching answer.

"Brightfrost had four kits," Redfur managed to choke up. The rain grew more steady, thrumming melodically on his pelt, soaking him to the bone. His eyelids slid over the orbs of amber, and the young tom willed himself to disappear, turn into the mist and low fog that engulfed the gorge each morning. He reopened his eyes, but still there he and Fireflower stood, in the actual rain, the pretty she-cat staring at him hopefully. "Brightfrost… is dead."

Fireflower's head snapped away; she stared down at her paws. Redfur was still able to see the unfiltered emotion in her eyes; he wish he hadn't though, because all he glimpsed was anger, hatred, pure fury that was undisguised. After all, Brightfrost had been Foxsnarl's mate; Fireflower's sister-by-partnership. Brightfrost had been beautiful inside and out, a good friend by Fireflower's side through thick and thin, from kithood to apprenticeship to when they were young warriors. Redfur knew that Fireflower's anger was at StarClan for taking her friend.

"Three of the kits are gone too," Redfur went on. His voice hardly cut through the rain to reach Fireflower's sagging ears. The spray of drops became hard now, beating down on the two lone cats in the clearing. The rain became so strong, Redfur had the feeling that he was standing under a waterfall. He heaved a sigh, feeling water flood into his mouth as he parted his jaws. Then he finished what he had to say. "One is left, and she is suckling away all the milk Brightfrost has. Obviously there w- won't be any more, so she'll need a new mother, some she-cat who is nursing."

"She?" A tiny voice, more feeble than that of an ailing elder, greeted Redfur's report. The dark red tom watched as Fireflower lifted her head and stared at him coolly. "Foxsnarl has a little she-kit?"

Redfur nodded somberly. "Yes." He nearly had to caterwaul over the thick paw-fuls of rain being dumped on the gorge now, filling every scoop in the stone with water, drenching the fur of every creature exposed with the endless, torrential downpour of clear liquid. "She has russet fur, just like him. She's truly beautiful."

"No name?" Fireflower croaked.

"No."

"No mother?"

"No," Redfur responded hesitantly, wondering what Fireflower was getting at.

"Well, she needs one then." Fireflower held a note of finality in her tone; Redfur realized then what the ginger she-cat wanted.

"I'll go talk to Treestar," Redfur said.

**OoOoO**

"One tiny she-kit, hm? What a shame, what a shame," Treestar rasped. His flaccid muscles in his legs trembled as he sat up from his nest a bit more. "Brightfrost will be greatly missed; as well as the three kits who never got to grow up."

_Maybe it isn't so bad for them, _Redfur thought scornfully. _At least they wouldn't have to feel the hunger gnawing at their bellies, or the feeling of being cold and constantly ill. _Right away he regretted thinking this, though, and silently apologized.

"So… obviously this kit needs milk, and right now she is slurping up everything Brightfrost produced. There won't be any more. F- Foxsnarl's new daughter will need a nursing she-cat."

Treestar heaved a sigh, and Redfur heard air rattle through the old tom's lungs, brittle as frost-encrusted twigs in the dead of leaf-bare. "We have no choice. SkyClan will be leaving soon, and surely you want another cat for your group, Redfur?"

Redfur leaned away from his leader, feeling his heart plummet as he remembered how special he apparently was to Treestar. _I don't _want _to leave the gorge, let alone lead the procession. _"Every kit deserves a chance to live. If Foxsnarl lost five cats within a moon, it'd be too much. I know that Fireflower is willing, and so am I. We can go in search of a female rogue or loner, and have her come here to feed Aub-"

"Who?" Treestar murmured, his faded green eyes glimmering.

"Well, her, um, fur is auburn-colored, so I thought that… um, Auburnkit might be a good name for her. That's all," Redfur croaked, feeling a pang of embarrassment hit him.

"It's a fine name," Treestar replied blandly. "Unique." He paused, then went on. "I suppose your plan would work- but what she-cat who has had kits recently would want to drop everything and move to SkyClan?"

_My, thanks for the support. _"I- I don't know," Redfur muttered, scuffling his paws on the dusty floor of Treestar's den uncomfortably. Rain pattered just outside, reminding the dark ginger tom of his previous visit in the eerie cave. "I mean, what else can we do?" His voice reduced to a low growl out of the pure loyalty he felt for his Clan. "I want this kit to live, Treestar. Surely you understand- ?"

Treestar nodded unhurriedly and took his time to speak again. _Every heartbeat I'm not out there finding a mother for the little auburn kit is a heartbeat wasted, a heartbeat closer to her death! _Redfur thought indignantly, forcing himself not to scowl nastily at the frail tabby. Finally Treestar mewed, "You shall go, with Fireflower and Snakestripe." Redfur groaned inwardly at hearing he'd have to spend one-on-one time with the conceited deputy. "You may not know this, but not all of Sharpstar and Cherrytail's many kits survived."

Redfur couldn't hold back his annoyance this time. "What does that have to do with anything?" he demanded testily.

But Treestar remained unfazed. "Cherrytail ran out of milk when her second litter was a mere few days old- I remember myself from when I was an apprentice. Only two from that lot survived- it took a while to find borage leaves among the snow, and by the time that patrol returned, a good while later, poor little Fogkit was lost to StarClan." Treestar shook his head cumbersomely. "So trust me, I know how long Foxsnarl's daughter can survive without milk. It isn't long, but you three will have plenty of time. Now go on."

**OoOoO**

Fierce rays of sunlight sliced through the treetops in SkyClan's forest. Redfur prowled forward cautiously, followed by Fireflower and Snakestripe. The younger tom felt strange having the deputy's hot breath on his tail rather than vice-versa; Redfur was actually quite proud of himself.

The rain had miraculously cleared up as night turned to day; the usually misty and cool dawn morning had been soiled by a harsh sun. Redfur winced as a beam ran straight into his eyes, and he turned away, nearly tripping on a stray tree root.

Suppressing a moan at his throbbing paw, Redfur gave it a feeble lick and continued on, nostrils flared at the feeling of Snakestripe's amber orbs bearing down on his shoulders. Redfur took a deep breath. _Calm yourself. You are the leader of this patrol, and you are mature, confident, and collected._

Inhale. Exhale. Then Redfur turned and locked gazes with the older cats a few heartbeats each. "Obviously, we'll soon be emerging from the outskirts of SkyClan territory and entering unknown land. I want you both to be calm and careful." Redfur winced as he noticed Snakestripe sniff disdainfully; clearly he didn't like being ordered around by a cat in a lower position than him. "If we can quickly but tactfully convince a nursing she-cat, if we happen to find one, to join us and help the little auburn she-kit, then-"

"Got it, Wordyfur," Fireflower joked with a good-natured lash of her tail. She grinned despite the grave circumstances, and bounded forward a mouse-length past the patrol leader. "Come on!"

Redfur purred, at least glad that those weren't the words of Snakestripe. He trotted after her, tail raised high, only stiffening slightly as the tabby deputy's stomping pawsteps sounded behind him. _Auburnkit- or, um, Foxsnarl's daughter, will be fine._

**OoOoO**

The crude Twoleg place loomed before the trio, with its unnatural, blinding lights and dark, unsettling shapes of the Twoleg nests.

"Here we go," Fireflower breathed, stepping up to the tall, sharp fence that surrounded the huge expanse. Snakestripe ventured after her, still apparently mute ever since they left the gorge, and Redfur followed, trying to hide his trembling.

"T- that's tall," Redfur observed.

"And spiky," Fireflower added.

"What if we can't jump it… or what if we get hurt?" Redfur fretted. He glanced around desperately, head whipping from side to side as his paws kneaded the mushy earth. "Maybe there's another way to get in."

Snakestripe's gruff voice practically silenced the whole forest. "Just get over the stupid thing," he growled, eyes flicking over Redfur and Fireflower as though they were magpies crawling with maggots.

Once the tabby had nearly mounted the entire fence and Fireflower was halfway up, Redfur knew that it was his turn. He hooked his claws in the cold, sharp wire and heaved himself onto the sturdy wall. _It's like climbing a tree, _Redfur tried to encourage himself, but it wasn't much help- ever since the forest had seemed to run out of squirrels, the remaining SkyClan cats hadn't been climbing trees as much. Most of them were dying; their bark peeled off easily, as flimsy as film, and their trunks sagged and smelled unpleasant.

A huge _thump _indicated that Snakestripe had jumped to the ground, now officially inside Twolegplace. Redfur shuddered at the thought of having to climb this again to leave. He finally reached the top of the fence, and stiffened as he felt it wobble beneath his paws. Fireflower was now clawing the rest of the way down until she, too, leaped to the earth again. She and Snakestripe stared up at Redfur expectantly; or in, the deputy's case, impatiently.

Redfur shivered, glancing down precariously where his Clanmates were standing. _Do I really have to jump _that _far? _The young warrior swallowed, and then pushed off the fence, preparing for the worst.

"Owww," he moaned as he felt pain sear his right hind leg. Redfur collapsed beside Fireflower, landing hard on his shoulder- but that was nothing compared to the lengthy scrape down the tom's flank.

"Why did you jump that far?" Fireflower gasped, racing over to examine the gash.

"That was a messy leap," Snakestripe criticized flatly, eyes narrowed as he padded forward to the two ginger cats. "You kind of tripped, and your leg caught on a sharp part of the fence. Idiot," he muttered in addition.

"G- guess I forgot to climb a little of the way down," Redfur stammered, gnashing his teeth as another wave of discomfort knocked him dizzy in the head.

Fireflower sighed. "Well, now that we're all in here, we have to go on." She eyed Redfur's wound uncertainly. "Do you think you can stand, Redfur?"

"I c… c- can try," Redfur mumbled. He hoisted himself up onto one paw, two, three… he was nearly completely standing, excluding his bad leg. Gingerly the tomcat dragged it forward a bit, letting out a faint yelp as pain shot up his haunches like the venom of a snake. He fell back down again heavily, releasing a _whoosh _as the air was knocked out of his lungs.

"Well," Fireflower hesitated. "Snakestripe, you go ahead without us. I'll try to find some cobwebs to stop the bleeding; beyond that I don't know any herbs."

Redfur's fur raised as he watched the tabby and Fireflower disappear into the bushes in opposing directions. He gulped, amber gaze faltering as he felt himself grow weaker. _Losing… blood… immobile… helpless… exposed…_

"Redfur!" Fireflower's squeal made the tom stir, but only a bit. His eyes flickered open, and he was faintly aware of two she-cats standing above him.

"That's not Snakestripe…" he whispered.

"Clearly," Fireflower snorted. "No, this is Kit. I found her in this bush _full _of herbs! She's like a medicine cat."

While the bouncy warrior was speaking, Kit was already examining Redfur's injury. She placed some cobwebs on the scratch and then turned to Fireflower. "I'll be right back. He needs some chervil and horsetail." Redfur opened his eyes, and though his vision was a bit misty at the edges, he glimpsed a pretty ginger tabby stalking off into the bushes.

"Isn't she great? I just met her and I already love her," gushed Fireflower.

"Nice she's," Redfur mumbled; he quickly corrected himself. "I mean, she's nice."

Kit reappeared, bundles of herbs crammed into her jaws. She spat out the medley and got to chewing up some bright green leaves while gently applying pressure to the cobwebs atop Redfur's scrape. "Doing this helpsh stopsh the bleeding," Kit explained around her mouthful. Finally she was done making the poultice, and she spread the gooey mixture over the bruised area. Redfur winced as the juices sunk in; they stung, but he knew from a time when he got hurt as a kit that Frecklewish told him it meant the wound was healing already.

"There. All done. Just rest it for a bit," Kit announced, smearing her now fragrant paws on the grass before turning to take in Fireflower's skinny, bony appearance. "Now are you 'dem wild cats who live in that gorge over 'dere?" she inquired, flicking her striped tail in the direction of SkyClan's home.

"Indeed, yes," Fireflower mewed, blinking a bit at Kit's thick accent. "Are you a rogue?"

"You could call me that if ya like," answered Kit. She turned and examined Redfur's damaged leg, and addressed him kindly. "It's looking better already!"

Fireflower heaved a sigh, and Redfur knew that she was thinking about her niece, the auburn-furred kit, again. "You don't happen to be nursing kits?" she mewed tentatively.

Kit snorted. "Do I smell like milk?" Without giving Fireflower a chance to respond, she rambled on. "I couldn't have kits even if I wanted to. I used to belong to some Nofurs. Took me to the Cutter and came back home. Never was the same again." Her shimmering green gaze eyed Redfur, and a shaky grin appeared on his face. "I got away from those crazy Nofurs anyway. Not to mention… imagine a she-cat named Kit with kits!"

Redfur coughed. He desperately wanted to talk, but he felt phlegm in his throat and knew that if he tried to speak, his voice would come out hoarse. _That would be embarrassing in front of this beauty! _

"Oh, alright. Well, thanks for helping Redfur out," Fireflower meowed briskly. "We should be moving on now. We have to find a nursing she-cat for this one kit-"

"Woah, woah. Slow down there, speedy," Kit chuckled, lashing her tail out like a whip before Fireflower, stopping the ginger warrior in her tracks. "Where do you think you're going? First off, your buddy- Redwhatsit- needs to lay down a bit. If he starts up n' walking, the poultice'll slide right off 'im! Besides, I need to know more about the cats I help. So sit down, rest awhile. And what was that about the nursing she-cat?"

"Oh, er, aright," Fireflower repeated cautiously. She sat down by Redfur's head, stroking him gently with her tail. _What the… ? _"I guess we can stick around for some time. We need a she-cat, any she-cat, with milk to help feed this one kit in our Clan, um, group. She was born just last night, and her mother and three littermates are all dead. We have no other nursing queens in our area, so we- as in, me, Redfur, and another cat- had no choice but to come here in search of one."

With each sentence, Kit's eyes grew rounder. By the time Fireflower had finished, Redfur could tell the marmalade tabby had a solution for them.

"Goodness, you are in luck by meeting me!" Kit enthused, tail waving excitedly as she nodded toward the deeper depths of Twolegplace. "I treated this nursing she-cat the other day- Snowflake, I think her name was. She had an infected rat bite while protecting her sons, Timber and Cricket, from a grisly pair. Then she went off mighty quick- not too trusting of strangers. But I'm sure she wouldn't mind a third kit to look after."

Redfur sat up a bit, ears pricked; his interest seemed to feed his strength, and he managed to choke up a couple sentences. "Are you sure? She didn't sound too friendly. How could we ever convince her to join Sky- well, our group?"

Fireflower seemed intrigued as well. She murmured to Kit in an airy tone, "Redfur may be right. But if you are up for it, we are willing to search for Snowflake."

An abrupt rustling came- followed by a series of _crashes _and _bangs_, like perpetual, agonizing coughs. Then a white she-cat appeared, hustled in by Snakestripe. "Found one," the tabby growled, roughly shoving the unfamiliar feline aside to directly address Fireflower and Redfur. He hardly noticed Kit; or he just ignored her.

The ginger tabby bounded forward, covering the milky she-cat in firm, soothing licks until she was drenched. "Snowflake, how in the heavens did this brute get ahold of you?" Kit demanded, throwing a fierce glare at Snakestripe.

"Watch it, kittypet," the brown deputy snarled.

"Right back atcha," Kit responded smoothly. Snakestripe let out a howl of anger and jumped forward to give Kit something to remember, but somehow Fireflower managed to hold him back with only her tail, forming a blockade between the feuding two.

"Don't hurt her, Snakestripe," the ginger warrior ordered sharply. "She helped Redfur. You should be grateful."

"Well, I- I didn't know that," Snakestripe replied, obviously a bit embarrassed.

Kit, not caring much about Snakestripe, was already fretting over Snowflake again as though they were mother and daughter. "Now, dear, where are your kits?"

Snowflake turned away her cheek; as she did so Redfur thought he saw a flash of puffy pink and more prominent red. Kit must have noticed, too, because the medicine cat-like feline turned the queen's head around and gasped. A puffy salmon-colored scratch was just under Snowflake's left eye. It looked like an older wound, but fresh blood was welling at the ends of the gruesome scrape.

Finally the slightly dusty white she-cat discovered words in her throat, and coughed them up. "T- Timber and… Cricket are dead," she sobbed, chest heaving as grief overwhelmed her. "A fox got them, just a few sunsets after you helped me, Kit. You offered to let us stay, but I was reckless and decided to move on, dumping your hospitality. I- I just…"

Redfur was devastated for the young queen, but at the same time he was relieved for Brightfrost's little daughter; the scent of milk was still dominant over every other smell Snowflake had, which meant she had some. Her sons had been young, and that made their deaths all the more worse.

"I am so, _so _sorry," Kit meowed, her voice faltering a bit as sadness crashed onto her too, weighing down her sagging shoulders. "You hang around here a bit, and as I tend to you, talk with me all you want. Let everything out, and ignore that mean tom." She shot a scowl at Snakestripe, but suddenly realization popped into her radiant green gaze. _She remembered our request._

"Okay," Snowflake murmured, crumpling into pile of moss quickly thrown together by Kit a few heartbeats earlier. "I- I just can't believe they're gone. They were my life. Ever since their father left, they were all I had. Then the rats, and the fox. There's no way to protect myself anymore- after all, how can I, if I couldn't save two lives?"

"Actually-"

"And I still have all this milk," Snowflake complained, barging right through Kit's sentence. "How long will it… take for it to… er, dry up? O- or can I take a herb for that?"

Kit shuffled her paws. For the first time since Redfur met her, she actually looked less confident than usual. "Well, you see, Snowflake, there is a way to rid you of the milk earlier than usual. But these cats here with me- Redfur, Fire-somethin'- they have a kit-"

Snowflake glanced at them sadly. "Oh, did you too lose a son or daughter as well." She shook her broad head cumbersomely. "What a shame," she went on without giving any cat a chance to explain.

"No, they don't have a kit," Kit informed her, unable to hold back a snort of laughter. "In their group- those kitties livin' in that gorge over the fence, there's a kit with no mother. She's a newborn- needs milk. Could you…"

"… feed her?" Fireflower finished hopefully for the tabby. She, Kit, and Redfur all gazed at Snowflake as she hemmed and hawed.

Then words came. "I'll do it. I want to be able to help another kit after losing my own two."

**OoOoO**

"Where is she?" Redfur screeched, launching himself into the clearing. Four felines were close on his heels: Fireflower, Snowflake, Snakestripe; as well as Kit, who had insisted to come to see what all the fuss with this "Clan business" was about. She proclaimed she'd return to her bush just over the fence eventually, but Redfur wasn't so sure.

"She's right here," a raspy voice replied.

Redfur blinked and slowed down, dust clouds puffing out by his pounding paws as he skidded to a halt before Frecklewish. To his horror, the speckled medicine cat held a limp russet body in her jaws, tiny and frail, skinny with its ribs jutting out.

"No…" The young tom's voice was barely a trickle between his lips. Unfiltered dismay was injected into him; a lengthy, drawn-out moan of grief followed.

She was dead.

Foxsnarl's daughter.

Dead.

Redfur could hardly bear to even look at her- so minuscule, hardly a lump of bone, layered on top with delicate skin and thin, slick fur from birth.

Snowflake and Kit just gawked at the auburn-furred kit's body as Frecklewish set it down in the center of the camp, where so many innocent, lifeless bodies had rested before, decorated with mint and rosemary to cover the smell of death.

Redfur could do nothing but curl up beside the kit he would have named Auburnkit for the rest of the night. Every other cat was too distraught and saddened to be able to maintain the vigil for long; one by one, they returned to the caves. The whole time Redfur stayed, not planning on leaving anytime soon. He even remained by the bitty kit longer than Foxsnarl himself; the dark ginger tom left his daughter with a huff, the depressing odor of grief pouring off his pelt.

_We took too long. If I hadn't been so stupid as to jump off the fence from the top, I wouldn't have gotten injured. We would have been back in time to save her. I caused this kit's death. _Redfur raised his head and scowled at the sky. _Please, StarClan, give her another chance at life. Take me if you must. I've lived enough. Just anything, anything, for Foxsnarl to have somebody left._

He stirred as pale claw-scratches of dawn melded into the indigo-blue of the dying night. Redfur's sap-colored eyes yawned open. Then he felt a little shudder; a faint wriggle was felt by his belly. He glanced down.

Foxsnarl's daughter was squirming, mewling for milk.

She was alive.

* * *

**For the next chapter, we shall return to the other four Clans.**


	8. The Clouded Future

**Emeraldwing (x3): Awesome, awesome, and awesome! **

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* * *

Yellowglint tried to focus on her paws clearly, but they were just a yellow blur against the dark grass.

All around her, her Clanmates trudged, their steps lifeless and dull, their expressions and moods lacking any vigor.

They were really, truly leaving. It wasn't a joke anymore, or something looming in the distance. The Clans just had to bade some goodbyes to the Gathering island; they would meet there, count cats, then turn back around and pad in a direction opposite of the mountains. After all, that was a path well-trodden; no, instead, this time the felines were going into unknown turf, area that had always been creepy and shrouded by mist. Now? Now, they were _going _there. The normally outgoing Yellowglint was, to say the least, not so excited.

In the past moon since Ivystar's show at the Gathering, three deaths had hit WindClan hard: Lightningflight, poor little Oakkit, and Nettlethorn. Another thorn of grief stabbed Yellowglint's heart, and she winced, turning her head away from the others.

The greencough had been too much on all three young toms' bodies. Lightningflight's health had failed completely a quarter-moon after the Gathering. Oakkit had caught it and was so skinny to begin with that Brindlefur had announced almost immediately that it was hopeless to save the tiny brown kit. Nettlethorn was the last to go, and it hurt Yellowglint to know that this meant he had suffered the most.

Addertooth had, fortunately, been able to leave the medicine den after a half-moon. He still had an unresolved limp; murmurs passed through the Clan that it was permanent. But it didn't seem to dishearten the attractive tabby any bit, and he trotted proudly next to Flamestripe a few fox-lengths ahead of Yellowglint.

Roseleaf was panting next to her friend, blue eyes screwed up against the battering winds.

"Do you need any help?" Yellowglint mewed, voice hardly disturbing the breeze. It was enough to make her repeat it so that she could hear herself.

"I'm… fine," Roseleaf growled, jabbing another paw at the ground angrily. They were exiting WindClan's moor for the final time, and Yellowglint remembered how, a short while ago, she had made absolute sure that she was the last cat to depart their shallow dip of a camp. Now their old camp could be considered abandoned; really, it _was _abandoned.

WindClan had always just a strip of RiverClan land to cross before they reached the tree-bridge. They were padding across the marshy section now, and Yellowglint wrinkled her nose as foul water squished between her toes. She nearly slipped; this led her to unsheathe her claws to give her traction against the wetland.

Now they were at the tree-bridge. The last few RiverClan stragglers were finishing their short walk over the fallen tree, leaving a slippery surface for WindClan.

Ivystar and Reedstripe hopped onto either side of the wide surface, helping up Addertooth and the elders before proceeding on themselves. Yellowglint peered up at the ashen gray sky grumpily before stepping onto the slick wood. She glimpsed ShadowClan coming around a copse of close-together, soggy and dead beeches. When she looked the other way, she spotted ThunderClan mounting the sharp ridge at the tip of the moor. _One of our rivals are the last to step on our moor, _Yellowglint thought with a touch of irritation.

Her paws skidded on the log, startling the yellow warrior into concentrating on her own safety. She used Ashcloud's tail ahead of her as a guide to where she was going as she gazed at her front paws.

Then her pads touched grass again, grass that was lush and long, grass that tickled her belly fur and nose, that's how long the soft strands were.

She couldn't help but unleash a purr of joy as she marched through the small field. Then they entered the huge clearing, and were as apart from RiverClan as oil is from water.

Unhurriedly, ShadowClan trickled in, trailed by ThunderClan. The four leaders leaped up onto the great tree to address their cats.

"Silence!" boomed Slashstar. His striped tail swished, and in one gradual wave every single mouth shut.

"Today is the day when the Clans leave their home of countless moons," Ivystar meowed, voice clear and free of stutter. He had weaned off of that not too long ago. "Just like the forest territory, stories of which are passed down through generations, the lake will soon be a distant memory for all of us. We will travel to a new place, a place that better suits our growing population" _- more like declining population- _"and one free of chemicals, Twolegs, sickness, and minimal prey."

"That's right," Lightstar agreed, puffing out his bony chest. Yellowglint snorted. _He's just trying to look important by adding into the conversation. _"RiverClan has left its camp good as new. Um-"

"Lovely, Lightstar," Dovestar chuckled despite the circumstances. "I think we should just take attendance and then leave, before we all get any more attached to our old lake than we already are."

With that, Ivystar stepped forward as if on cue. He examined WindClan for a heartbeat; and then called out, "Reedstripe?"

"Here!" the handsome deputy replied, craning his neck to look up at his leader.

"Brindlefur, Flamestripe, Roseleaf?"

"Here!" they all yowled in unison.

"Yellowglint, Ashcloud, Palemist, Littleflower?"

"Present," Yellowglint forced herself to raise her voice so the gray tabby could pick up her verification.

The elders croaked that they were here, and Ashcloud shouted a quivering "here, along with Dawnkit and Eaglekit".

Before long, all felines were accounted for; nobody was left behind.

Then they set off.

**OoOoO**

Yellowglint hesitated at the edge of non-Clan territory. She tentatively pressed one paw into the grass on the opposite side of the strong markings.

Two paws. Both front paws.

Three paws. One hind paw left.

Four paws. She was out of Clan territory.

But it wasn't Clan territory anymore.

It was open for everybody. It was open for Twolegs to consume with their monsters and poison and annoying kits.

It was all theirs now.

**OoOoO**

Roseleaf had been expecting kits for a little over a moon now. Her stomach had swelled and hung low, indicating that she was going to have a large litter.

She still hadn't told Reedstripe.

Of course, since nobody knew who the father of Roseleaf's kits were, rumors spread like wildfire through the small Clan. Since Flamestripe and Ashcloud were mates, he was ruled out. This left only Lightningflight, which would be tragic, Ivystar, and Reedstripe. There were three even smaller groups within the Clan who thought Lightningflight and Roseleaf, Ivystar and Roseleaf, and Reedstripe and Roseleaf. Nobody knew it was the latter for sure but Yellowglint.

The cats hadn't left former Clan territory far behind when Yellowglint approached her friend for the umpteenth time.

"So, have you been thinking about telling Reedstripe lately?" She launched right into the big question, and for a few heartbeats Roseleaf turned and stared incredulously at her. Yellowglint wanted an answer, and, stubbornly, commenced to repeat the inquiry. "So, have you been-"

"Shut up!" Roseleaf hissed, tail lashing. Her mottled cream fur bristled around the neck, and she glanced around wildly. Luckily, the deputy was up ahead, talking to the ThunderClan second-in-command, Otterpelt, in a hushed tone.

"Well?"

"I'll tell him when the time is right" was all Roseleaf gave Yellowglint. It wasn't the first time Yellowglint heard that excuse, and she shook her head vigorously.

"I think the right time is right now."

"No, it isn't-"

"Yes, it is-"

"No-"

"Well, to be honest, you don't _have _much time left before the kits are born," Yellowglint pointed out truthfully. "So I don't know _what _you're waiting for."

"Don't be obnoxious," Roseleaf retorted, tail lashing. She lifted her chin and pranced a bit ahead of Yellowglint, though it required much energy for her. Yellowglint caught up in a few bounds, and felt glowering cobalt eyes on her again.

"Look, I just think that… well! Well, let's just say you don't tell _him _before the kits are born. They're born sometime during the journey" –Roseleaf shuddered- "and they grow up never knowing who their father is. And the rumors! You can't forget them. I don't get why you're so nervous," Yellowglint protested in a loud-whisper.

Roseleaf exhaled audibly. "You _look_, Yellowglint. I don't even love him. It was just one night… a sinful night, a night filled with mistakes. I'd prefer my kits to assume who their father is randomly than really know- know, well, that their father is a stuck-up deputy."

Yellowglint gawked at her companion skeptically. "You should be proud you're having the deputy's kits! And since when is Reedstripe 'stuck-up'? He is helpful, kind, and far from conceited. I don't know where you're getting 'stuck-up' from."

For a long while, the cream-colored queen didn't respond to Yellowglint's candid objection. Then, belatedly, Roseleaf murmured, "If you come with me, I will tell him the kits are his."

"Really?" Yellowglint was so pleasantly taken aback that Roseleaf had finally given in that she took a moment to absorb her Clanmate's agreement. "Well, that's wonderful. How about we approach Reedstripe at our first stop?"

"Okay," Roseleaf mewed, voice faint. "That works."

**OoOoO**

The cats kept going until the sky turned from a pale blue streaked with fluffy clouds to a bloody crimson sunset to an inky, ominous black. They came upon a modest clearing surrounded by three oak trees and an elm, and the four Clans settled in their own corners. Yellowglint felt cramped and uncomfortable under the leafy canopy, but didn't complain; she knew that she should be glad and thankful for the shelter.

WindClan rested by the lonely elm, and the yellow warrior found herself smooshed against Roseleaf and Addertooth. Heat crept up Yellowglint's pelt as she tried to look away from the crippled brown tom; was it just her or had he been staring at her?

"Well, it's now or never," Yellowglint declared, taking her mind off Addertooth. Roseleaf grumbled and got to her paws grudgingly.

The she-cat duo pushed between chatting couples and lowly singles. Then they came upon Reedstripe, who was lying by himself a little off to the side, amber eyes focusing on nothing in particular.

"Hey, Reedstripe…" Yellowglint had wanted to say more, but the words caught in her throat. She blinked, suddenly mute, and looked to Roseleaf desperately.

The russet tomcat sat up, drawing one moist paw over his disheveled whiskers hurriedly. "Um, hello, Yellowglint, Roseleaf. Is something the matter?"

Roseleaf let out a fatigued snarl, then mewed, "I need to tell you something very, very important. You see… y- you see…"

Reedstripe tilted his head.

"Well, my kits… you're… the, er, father." By the time the truth was out, Roseleaf was truly white under her pale fur. Yellowglint ogled Reedstripe; she had never seen him more red.

"Is this a j- you're serious?" Reedstripe babbled like a newborn kit, and his eyes bugged out of his head in disbelief. Then the deputy mollified himself, and sat up straight and alpine, with dignity. "That's great news, Roseleaf. But I have one question."

The cream queen poked out of her shell hesitantly. "Yes?"

"Will you be my mate? Will you stand by my side as we raise our kits, together?"

Yellowglint felt a dense layer of fuzz envelop her heart, warming her to no end as she watched the pair embrace in a passionate muzzle nudge and then cascade of licks. Through the tongue lashes, Roseleaf whispered, "Of course."

It was then, in her friend's eyes, Yellowglint could see how much Roseleaf loved him.

**OoOoO**

The cats left their treasured clearing after a short-lived stay, plodding on into foreign lands. Since Roseleaf and Reedstripe seemed to be stuck together by an invisible slab of honey and Yellowglint was partial to giving them privacy over invading their blossoming relationship, the she-cat walked alone now.

A shot of adrenaline tingled down her spine, flowing into her veins and impelling her to spread cheer. She caught up to a brown she-cat who stunk of fish, though her scent was obscured by the more fresh smell of oak.

"Hello, do I know you? I'm Yellowglint," Yellowglint introduced herself to the RiverClan warrior.

The other female's scrawny shoulders twisted, and dull amber eyes eyed Yellowglint warily. "Um… Amberleaf. That's my name, I mean. I- ah, never mind." Amberleaf shook her head and meandered a short distance away from Yellowglint.

Desperate, Yellowglint decided to pursue after Amberleaf no matter how reluctant her victim was. "Don't you want to talk?" she grilled temptingly.

"Please," Amberleaf begged half-heartedly. "I don't have time 'to talk', no matter how excitedly you put it. I'm not in the mood to converse with a bouncy WeakClan- ahem, I mean WindClan- cat, let alone be expected to reply to whatever ridiculous words come spewing out of your mouth."

_Too big for your pelt, I see. I can fix that. _"Thanks for the compliment," Yellowglint replied placidly. "WeakClan specializes in spewing ridiculous words out of our mouths."

"I understand your intentions to lift my attitude to the skies, but no little deceiving plan of yours will work," Amberleaf meowed, her voice poetic and sentences creative.

Yellowglint's lips twisted. _I have to admit, she's clever. I admire her a bit. A very little bit. _"Every heartbeat spent unhappy is a heartbeat wasted," she tried lamely, of course to no avail.

Amberleaf snorted. "Impressive, but this time you have failed to interest me. Now go away before you lose a whisker or two or-"

"Three?"

"How about _all_?" the brown she-cat demanded scathingly. "Get out of my way." With that, she pushed past Yellowglint, snarling in disgust.

Promptly, Amberleaf crashed into a dark gray tom with a nose the same shade. "Sor-" she began.

"Lay off. Just watch where you're headed next time," the slate-colored tom growled before turning back around.

"Hey, why did everybody stop? What's going on?" Yellowglint asked, thrusting herself past Amberleaf with a simper.

The ShadowClan warrior, who Yellowglint recognized to be Dullnose from the recent roll call, was friendlier towards her, and regarded the WindClan she-cat with a beam at first. Amberleaf hissed behind them and stamped her forepaws on the luscious grass heatedly.

"Looks like there's some argument up ahead," Dullnose rumbled, the words rolling off his tongue smoothly. "I think- woah"- he stood on his toes to see over the head of the feline ahead of him- "it's a huge group!"

Yellowglint couldn't resist. She nodded curtly at him and then shouldered between a few more warriors and stray kits that provided as snares preventing a fall-free walk forward. Gradually she got closer through the pitiful assembly and was immediately met with a hissing fit between the trio of masculine leaders (therefore excluding Dovestar) and two exotic toms. An apprentice-size light brown she-cat skulked behind her acquaintances, fear flashing in her eyes just as frequently as the lash in her skinny tail.

The yellow warrior found a good place next to Flamestripe and crouched down, analyzing the situation with round, owl-like eyes.

Slashstar and a light tabby tom appeared to be the most frazzled. The ShadowClan leader's ears were so flat that they blended into his dark tabby head; the rogue's gaze was simply two specks of green on a pale canvas. Ivystar and Lightstar hovered in the wake of Slashstar's constant fury-infested waves, serving as backup for their fellow leader. A drab, dingy gray tom with knotted fur was at his tabby companion's side, claws out.

It seemed that the moment Yellowglint had the facial expressions and body positions memorized, the cats decided to make a move.

"We're just passing through," Lightstar reasoned testily. His longer golden fur pooled around his paws like creamy milk, and despite the flecks of silver crowding his muzzle he still looked very majestic; a lion.

"Don't be daft!" the light tabby shot back. "This is our turf, and we don't need anybody crossin' over it freely. You see all those cats ya'll have? You be stealin' our prey and flattenin' our grass!"

_Not as many cats as we used to have, _Yellowglint thought grimly.

Slashstar reached out a leg and swiped his claws indiscriminately, but the striped male ducked in the nick of time. "StarClan!" the green-eyed Clan cat yowled, frustration breaking his usually dapper face into fragments of ragged, bitter ice.

"We promise we won't hunt or damage anything on your property," Ivystar pleaded.

"The answer was, is, and always will be _no_!" Light Tabby snarled. Dark Gray grunted in agreement, apparently as illiterate as a dog trying to use Catspeak, and Light Brown squealed.

Dovestar padded forward to rest her tail on Slashstar's bunched shoulders, and in that heartbeat Light Tabby's face softened. His eyes expanded and his jaws sagged open as if they were melting off.

"Is that fox yours?" the rogue demanded. His former slits of eyeballs jutted out of his sunken skull as they raked over Dovestar.

Slashstar hunched his shoulders, but scowled back up at Light Tabby maliciously. "Fox?"

"Fox. Her," Light Tabby informed him somewhat patiently, thrashing his tail in the direction of the ThunderClan leader. When Slashstar still stared at him blankly, he snapped, "Fox! Y'know, what we call a pretty she-cat 'round here."

The cream female's ears were low over her head, and she unleashed a vicious spit. "As if! Now will you please let us go before you slip and fall on your face from all that _drool_ dripping out of your mouth?"

Yellowglint stifled a snicker at the interaction between Clan and rogue. It was obvious that the tom leaders' attempts to get past Light Tabby and his gang were futile, but by adding Dovestar into the dilemma, Light Tabby might relent.

"S- sure," Light Tabby stuttered, stumbling back and nearly colliding with Gray Grunter, who in turn smashed into Light Brown as if they were a trio of kitty dominoes.

Dovestar sauntered past, flicking her tail for ThunderClan to follow. Slashstar and the others gazed after her in disbelief, then urged their own cats on. Yellowglint gathered up her jiggling, laughing self and pursued Ivystar, making sure that Light Tabby got a thorough grimace.

"Hey, cream she-cat!" Light Tabby's fading voice could be heard over the vibration of paws pounding on the earth.

"What?" Dovestar whipped around, impatiently whisking her posterior.

"If we ever meet again, just know that I'm Caesar."

ThunderClan's ruler scoffed. "Whatever!"

_I'd rather continue calling him Light Tabby, _Yellowglint thought.

**OoOoO**

By the time more than a few cats were complaining of hunger, the group stopped again, finding a makeshift camp just outside Caesar's strong scent markers.

Yellowglint was jostled into a hunting party with three other cats, each from a Clan not her own.

A brown tabby who had a pelt sodden with the leafy scent of forest- ThunderClan- seemed to be leading them, and he turned to give Yellowglint a blunt nod. A blue-gray she-cat who had a smell similar to Amberleaf's and a fishy breath- RiverClan- fell into step beside Yellowglint, ignoring a black warrior from ShadowClan.

"Hey, I'm Bluepelt," she murmured. "You?"

"Yellowglint. Nice name," Yellowglint replied, feeling her spirits lift at finally being able to have a friendly conversation again, besides the one with Dullnose.

"Eh." Bluepelt shrugged. "Yours is cooler. I mean, -_glint_? Your leader must be creative. Ivystar, right?"

Yellowglint nodded. "Thanks. But Ivystar didn't name me. It was the cat before him, Fieldstar."

"Ah, yes, I remember Fieldstar. He was a fine leader for your Clan. I wish I had known some other leader besides Lightstar! He was around when I was born, and I'm a bit past my prime myself." Bluepelt chuckled and flicked an ear, indicating that the end of their silly discussion about names and leaders was soon to conclude.

Air puffed out of Yellowglint's nostrils in a hearty snort. "As if! There's not a single fleck of gray on your muzzle! How many moons have you been a warrior?"

Bluepelt looked taken aback, but her shock didn't last long and she soon replied curtly, "About two seasons now, give or take a moon."

"Oh-"

"_And _I already have an apprentice. I think Lightstar had fog in his brain when he gave me Streampaw, because honestly…" Bluepelt trailed off at seeing the ThunderClan tabby's chilly stare fixed on her. "My, what green eyes you have…" The grayish female croaked.

Yellowglint couldn't blame her comrade's faltering tone and submissive gestures. She, too, was mesmerized and startled by the intensity of this feline's emerald eyes. Finally she was able to look away, and at that moment he spoke.

"That's why they called me Greeneyes, of course. Now, cut the chatter and get hunting."

Bluepelt shuddered, allowing the black ShadowClan warrior to go between her and Greeneyes before halting, jaws open but for once not to talk.

The yellow she-cat hadn't even noticed where her paws had been treading, but now she realized that they had all ended up in a clearing thick with not only grass but… catmint!

"Look at this stuff," the remaining nameless cat exclaimed around a mouthful of the precious leaves. Yellowglint joined him in wrapping her teeth and tongue around a spongy wad, indulging in the feeling of the tasty juices massaging her taste buds. "This will help my sister, Tallpine." Her eyes met his for one fleeting moment; then she meowed carefully.

"Isn't she the medicine cat?" Before he could answer, Yellowglint went on. "What's your name?"

Behind the catmint, white shimmered where he was smiling. "Blackfang." That was all he meowed before brushing softly past her to release his load by a gap between the line of surrounding gorse bushes, the entrance/exit to this breathtaking area.

"Bet he already has some she-cats after him," Bluepelt uttered into Yellowglint's twitching ear. The sun-colored WindClan cat felt a spurt of jealousy at how Bluepelt's chattiness was overshadowing her usual behavior. _What's gotten into me? Bluepelt is probably shyer than a flea from mouse bile, most times. I need to reclaim my place before she becomes the clown of the group. _

Yellowglint was confused as to why she felt so insecure about a trivial thing such as this, but nevertheless she cackled and responded, "If there's any left in his Clan."

At this point, Greeneyes and Blackfang had disappeared into the brush so close to each other that Yellowglint almost expected them to twine tails. _Toms. _The tiny dot of appreciation and friendliness she felt toward Bluepelt swelled into a sizeable stain on her heart. "Want to hunt a rabbit or something together?" Yellowglint inquired.

"I'd prefer a fish, but I think we could compromise on a bird," Bluepelt informed her. Yellowglint nodded and started toward the opposite way the males had headed, but then the blue-gray warrior laughed and pursued politely, "Maybe set that catmint down first?"

**OoOoO**

Two blackbirds and a mouse later, Yellowglint reentered the pile of enormous boulders stacked haphazardly by nature. This was the temporary camp.

She nodded a farewell to Bluepelt, Greeneyes, and Blackfang, who all had some fresh-kill crammed between every whisker-width of space in their mouths, then placed her catches at the base of the rocks and approached Flamestripe.

"Any news while I was gone?" Yellowglint quizzed the flame-colored warrior, collapsing in a heap of sweaty fur beside him.

Flamestripe swallowed a chunk of the squirrel he was feasting on. "Not much. But I'll tell you what, if even one rabbit is found here, I'd say this would be the perfect place for us!"

Shock sparked on the ends of Yellowglint's fur, making it raise. Her eyes rolled to the dark depths of the pits between the big stones, and she studied the gaps apprehensively. "You mean, stay here permanently? I don't know. It's mostly forest, which wouldn't be suitable for RiverClan and WindClan especially, not to mention the snakes hiding in there," she argued, swiftly flicking her tail away from the yawning holes.

"I suppose so," Flamestripe mumbled around the juice dribbling down his chin. "But have you ever tasted a squirrel? They're truly not that bad-"

"Since when did you become half-ThunderClan?" Yellowglint blurted out suddenly, her tone sharper than Tigerstar's claws. She swallowed her abrupt anger and then ducked her head shamefully, unable to look at Flamestripe's startled gaze. "I'm sorry. It's just… the Twolegs, those rogues back there, and the overall stress that's been on every cat lately- including cheerful old me- has taken a toll on my mood." Her voice faltered for a heartbeat, but then she head lightly, "I somehow pounced on some forest prey a little whole ago, and that mouse tasted good on my tongue." Yellowglint purred hopefully, and was relieved to hear a rumbling from Flamestripe as well.

He grinned and polished off to remainder of his meal. "Don't worry about it. Trust me, you were lucky to find me this calm. Mostly I'm fretting about Ashcloud and the kits, particularly after… well, you- you know, Oakkit." Yellowglint frowned, jaws parting slightly as Flamestripe lowered his head, grief for his puny son shimmering in his eyes.

The WindClan female leaned forward and rasped a reassuring lick over his ears. "You don't worry either. I'll protect every cat in WindClan with my life." Then, thinking of Bluepelt, she added, "Every cat in the Clans."

**OoOoO**

A strident howl of pain and discomfort grated Yellowglint's ears early the following morning, just as the ivory streaks signifying dawn were being drawn in the sky.

Fear gnawed at her belly, and she barely took the time to stretch before abandoning her nest and flying over grass and pebbles, skidding to a stop before a writhing brown apprentice-size tom. Foam bubbled at his mouth, white and seething, and his fur was knotted. His eyes, blank and unseeing, stared up at the cats tending to him. They all stunk of ShadowClan.

Yellowglint recognized Blackfang among the mix, and she pushed past a whimpering black she-cat to demand what was wrong.

The white-muzzled male continued his soothing strokes down the young cat's flank as he meowed, "This is Stalkingpaw, our medicine cat apprentice. He fell in the poisoned river back at the lake, and he's been weak ever since. I tried to save him, but I…" Blackfang swung his head away, ashamed. "I took too long. Somebody had to help me."

Tallpine, the ebony medicine cat, glanced at him knowingly. Then she addressed Yellowglint breezily. "He was a very competent cat at first, eager to learn all he could about herbs. He was s- so infused with the knowledge of medicine I thought he would actually start stuffing his head with tansy and poppy seeds. But then the death of his mother, Spicefeather, shattered him. Soon after his brother died too, and now this…" Tallpine's shoulders sagged. "It just isn't far. He had so much potential."

"Tallpine?" Blackfang murmured.

"Yes?" she croaked, starting to shuffle toward her apprentice.

"Stalkingpaw left for StarClan while you were talking. But I think I heard what you said," the black tom spoke. "And I think he appreciated it."

Yellowglint took in Stalkingpaw, still and frigid, his fur the only thing moving from the oncoming wind. Why did it have to be him? Why did it have to be cats so young, so fragile?

* * *

***SPOILER***

**I absolutely HATED it when Flametail died while still Littlecloud's apprentice. And yet now I just killed off a ShadowClan mca again, still a paw! :'(**

***SPOILER***

**P.S. I am particularly proud of this chapter. What did you think?**


	9. The Covered Sun

**Moonpebble of Lightningclan: Le thank you~**

* * *

A_ fox. You know, what we call a pretty she-cat around here. _Caesar's words stung Greeneyes again, and the brown tabby wrinkled his muzzle as he strode through the unfamiliar forest.

No matter what he did or thought, Greeneyes couldn't shake what the rogue said about Dovestar. _Like he'd ever end up with her. Dovestar clearly disliked him._

His paw crunched on a stick, splitting it in half. Greeneyes glanced down, and froze, his moving chest the only thing disturbing the air. Then the ThunderClan warrior bent down and split one half of the twig again, creating three uneven thirds.

He grabbed the larger piece, the original half, and labeled it in his head as Dovestar. The pair of smaller pieces became him and Caesar.

Greeneyes played a little game just for the heck of it, having the piece that represented him take down the Caesar piece and end up with Dovestar the stick.

"What are you doing?" Greeneyes started; he shoved the sticks under a pile of leaves and spun. He found himself gazing into the timid amber eyes of young Graypaw.

"Oh, um, nothing. I was just bored so- uh, yeah…" Greeneyes swallowed his fear and coughed up his lost dignity. "Graypaw, should you be wandering a strange forest like this alone?"

Graypaw blinked. He coughed, the last fragments of his sickness showing themselves again. Then the apprentice shrugged. "I dunno. I guess not. It's just that Raggedwing is in a bad mood, and my sisters are… gone. So I don't really have anything to do."

The tabby pursed his lips, recalling how his brother became mentor to Graypaw. _Tumblefoot got Icepaw, and that was fair enough. I guess Dovestar was making me feel young a little longer by giving herself Cloudpaw. _"Sorry for being a bit harsh like that. I was just caught off-guard." Greeneyes waved his tail slowly over the forest floor. "Want to talk about something, while we're alone? It won't always be like that since the big group is probably gonna move on soon-"

"Actually, I did want to talk about something," Graypaw meowed. "You most likely don't know, but Raggedwing has been talking about you."

Hearing this made Greeneyes sit straight up suddenly, as if Graypaw had stabbed a thorn in his lower back. "Oh, really?" he slurred.

"Yeah." Graypaw shuffled his paws. "I'm not really supposed to be telling you this, but I can't bear to listen to him anymore. I have to tell someone, so it might as well be you." He paused to take a breath.

"Go on," Greeneyes prompted.

Graypaw's eyelids slid closed. His chest inflated as he filled his lungs with air. Finally he found his voice. "Raggedwing was saying that he was confused as to why you were angry at him. Apparently you fell from a tree and he saved you. Honestly, I don't know why you are angry at my mentor. He saved your life, or at least he rescued you from a few broken bones."

_Of course my brother's puzzled. He has the brainpower of the twigs I was just messing around with. _"Yes, I did fall from a tree. Yes, Raggedwing did provide as a cushion for my fall. But I suppose he didn't say the reason I fell in the first place?"

Now Graypaw looked taken aback, like he was spotlighted in the glowing eyes of a monster. "Er, no, he didn't say. I figure you slipped?"

Greeneyes smirked. "Nope. He leaned against the tree I was at the top of and scratched his claws down it. The tree shook, and I fell."

"Well, that's not good," Graypaw remarked bluntly. "But that was a moon ago. Shouldn't you two have made up by now?" he grilled.

This fed Greeneyes' annoyance, and soon the emotion took over the warrior's words. "No!" he burst out. "There's no reason we have to make up immediately after the event, or even seasons after. If we're trapped in a rivalry for the rest of our natural-born lives, then so be it."

"But Raggedwing said-"

"_Enough_, Graypaw," Greeneyes snapped. He stubbornly turned away from the hapless apprentice. "Let's just return to the camp for now."

**OoOoO**

When Greeneyes returned to the Clans' makeshift home, the scent of death and grief lingered in the air in the form of murky clouds that Greeneyes could practically see. The brown tabby lurched forward and nearly collided with Mudstripe and Tumblefoot, both of whom were sitting watching Nightkit and Frostkit vapidly.

"What's… up?" Greeneyes mumbled around the pitiful bird he had caught. The fresh-kill was constructed of skin and bones, with barely a scrap of meat on its body. According to Greeneyes' calculations, it could probably fill up only a small apprentice.

"The ShadowClan medicine cat apprentice died a little while ago," Tumblefoot spoke robotically, and this brought a fierce pang to Greeneyes' heart. _Everyone is so used to death, it isn't much of _news _anymore. _

Mudstripe tore his gaze away from his kits and ducked his head. "It's true. The poor thing suffered far too much. He fell into the Twoleg-poisoned river while his Clan was travelling to the Gathering Island, and that did it for him."

Greeneyes clenched his teeth and placed a grimace on his face. "That is beyond devastating. No cat with –_paw _at the end of their name deserves to go to StarClan so early."

Tumblefoot lashed his tail. "Say that to Icepaw and Cloudpaw. Graypaw's lucky he survived. I thought that they would all pass on for the longest time, and then he miraculously recovers." The defiant tortoiseshell tom's voice cracked as he stared absently at his sister's offspring. "Why was he given the tiniest drop of health but not his sisters? What did _he _have that they didn't?"

His questions remained unanswered; after all, who _did _have an answer for them? The greencough and illness had been on full strength in Icepaw and Cloudpaw's bodies; Graypaw had been in a bit more control, and he was able to fight the disease off. It seemed like the logical explanation. It was the explanation Jaywing would give anyone who asked.

To get his mind off the frank topic of _death_, Greeneyes switched his focus to Nightkit and Frostkit. The boisterous pair were making the best of what little resources they had, first entertaining themselves with a rock, then a dab of parched moss, and finally a blade of grass. As Nightkit hooked his tiny claw into the thin strip, and Frostkit watched on in awe at his impressive concentration, Greeneyes' thoughts wandered again, just like they usually did.

_The Clans have never been this out of luck. Our ancestors thought they had it bad, but now look at us! If only we had a great Firestar of our own, or a Power of Three, to save us all. Why aren't there any amazing prophecies in our time? What was so special about then?_

"Let all cats of the Clans look to the top of the rock pile!"

Ivystar's voice, which was getting increasingly familiar minus the stutter, sounded from the top of the rock pile. Greeneyes glanced up there, digging his upper canine tooth into his lower lip. What were the leaders going to say now?

The WindClan tom stood, bony chest puffed out, at the edge of the largest rock in the pile, which jutted out over the inferior boulders. Behind the gray tabby were Lightstar and Slashstar, fanned out in a perfect triangle, and then Dovestar off to the left, washing herself, disturbing the toms' lineup.

"The other three leaders and I have been talking, and we've decided to immediately upgrade all of our younger Clan members a position. This means that all kits will become apprentices, and all 'paws earn their warrior names. This way, all queens that are not nursing or expecting can return to their regular duties, and there are new, stronger, younger warriors among our ranks."

Gasps and murmurs exploded from the heart of the crowd, and washed out right to the edge, where Greeneyes, Mudstripe, and Tumblefoot were. Mudstripe sat straight up and exclaimed, "But Nightkit and Frostkit are only four moons old!" He flattened his ears. "Stupid WindClan. I do hope Dovestar didn't agree with this!"

Ivystar fixed his stalk-yellow gaze on two young cats who Greeneyes couldn't see but for their small ears, which poked out over the heads of cats in front of the tabby.

"Ashcloud, with your consent, I will make Dawnkit and Eaglekit apprentices today. They are weaned and at three-and-a-half moons, capable of serving for their Clan."

A pretty gray she-cat squeezed her eyes shut and leaned into a striped ginger tom, most likely her mate. Finally she sighed and stared up at Ivystar. "If it helps strengthen our Clan, Ivystar, then I am willing. Just please do not bring my babies into battle."

"Mom!" A protestant squeak could be heard in response to Ashcloud's final request.

Ivystar nodded. "Ashcloud, I never wanted things to come to this." He ran his eyes over the felines. "It is obvious the Clans are struggling, however, and desperate times call for desperate measures. Though this is considered breaking the warrior code, I do send apologies to our warrior ancestors." The WindClan ruler raised his head to the early morning sky. "Send me a sign if I am doing wrong, and if so all cats about to renamed will be stripped of their newer names until the time is right." At that moment, a breeze whispered through the clearing, strangely ruffling only Ivystar's wispy pelt.

"Dawnkit, from this moment on until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Dawnpaw. Your mentor will be Yellowglint. I hope she will pass on all she knows to you."

Now Greeneyes could see the newly-named Dawnpaw, a fluffy cream-colored kit, as she bounced up to touch noses with the yellow warrior Greeneyes had been on patrol with yesterday.

"Eaglekit, from now on until you get your warrior name, you shall be acknowledged as Eaglepaw. Your mentor will be myself."

After some nose-taps and hushed cheers, Dovestar stepped forward. Greeneyes' stomach lurched, and he sneaked a look toward Mudstripe. The dark tabby looked horrified as his mate reluctantly groomed Nightkit and Frostkit's pelts then let them pad up to their leader.

"As much as I hate to do this," Dovestar began. "it must be done. The breeze that passed through here and rifled Ivystar's fur must have been a sign that this is a right decision. Here goes nothing." She took a deep breath, flattened her fur, then went on. "Nightkit, from this moment on until you acquire your warrior name you will be known as Nightpaw. Your mentor will be Otterpelt. You are his second apprentice, and I have no doubt that you will learn the best skills from my deputy."

In no time, the young black tom and second-in-command were seated and now it was Frostkit's turn to be named. But just before Dovestar could speak, the pasty-furred female piped up.

"Excuse me for interrupting, Dovestar, but I would like to train under Jaywing as medicine cat apprentice."

Dovestar hunched her shoulders, and one end of her mouth curled up into a wan half-smile. "Very well then. From now on, you will be Frostpaw. Jaywing will be your mentor."

Greeneyes continued watching, numb with disbelief, as Graypaw became Grayfur, and a blindingly shiny silver tabby from RiverClan was proclaimed Streamtail by Lightstar. ShadowClan admitted to having no kits or apprentices to give fresh names to, much to Slashstar's dismay, and the joint ceremony was completed.

Mudstripe observed, fur bristling, as Jaywing led an eager Frostpaw to a modest store of herbs, and as Otterpelt nodded for Nightpaw to follow him into the forest.

Despite the fact that cats far too young were leaving their mothers or mentors, Greeneyes was perturbed that he hadn't gotten Nightpaw as an apprentice. He was the only cat in ThunderClan who hadn't had an apprentice yet, excluding Leafpelt who of course couldn't train her own son.

_Otterpelt's already educated an apprentice, if he's deputy, _Greeneyes fumed. _So why does he get another one, and I don't? _Greeneyes allowed Cloudpaw being paired with Dovestar herself to slip, because that had been the first time, and if Dovestar wanted to train Cloudpaw, then fine.

"I'm going to talk to her about this," Greeneyes muttered to himself. And with that he stomped off.

**OoOoO**

"Oh, hello, Greeneyes, what a lovely surprise," Dovestar purred. She nosed aside a partly-eaten gangly squirrel and stacked one front paw atop the other.

"Greetings, Dovestar." Greeneyes spoke scathingly, not bothering to hide his pique and livid tone.

Her purr faded, and her grin subsided into a frown. "Is something wrong?"

Greeneyes decided to keep her on a momentary cliffhanger, and he took a gander of her small den at the makeshift camp, which was a pent-in cave carved out of one of the lower, more hidden rocks. The other leaders had similar sleeping places except for Ivystar, who slept under the stars. "Nice place you have."

Dovestar snorted. "Why are you here?"

"Okay, if you must know," Greeneyes meowed. "it's because I'm wondering why I haven't had an apprentice yet."

One of her ears flicked. "Oh, you're jealous that Nightpaw was given to Otterpelt. Look, I just don't think a cat has been born yet that you'd have chemistry with while training them. Someday that cat will come, and when they do, they'll be apprenticed to you."

Greeneyes scowled at her. "But I've played with Nightpaw a few times when he was a kit. I know all his tricks. I do not see why I can't teach him."

A friendly laugh tumbled out of Dovestar's well-shaped jaws, and Greeneyes couldn't help but note her every movement until she spoke again. "Greeneyes, you're young. I'm aware of your irritation. Just please hang on a little longer, and eventually you can mentor the correct cat for you."

**OoOoO**

The moon rose into the inky-black sky, hardly a scratch against the ebony expanse. Greeneyes riveted it from his nest under a short overhang where he was squeezed between Tumblefoot, who either tossed or turned as a purposeful hobby or did it unknowingly, and an unfamiliar RiverClan warrior.

Greeneyes then allowed his eyelids to collapse over his eyes. They had gradually grown more and more weighted with each paw step he took to his nest, and before long the tiredness had taken over his body.

The tabby had been vying for a dreamless slumber, but StarClan must not have been listening to him that night because he roused in a desolate field.

As a tumbleweed nearly careened into him, Greeneyes padded cautiously over the crunchy grass.

"Hey, are you a StarClan cat?" Greeneyes stiffened and crouched low, grinding a flower stem between two claws. He relaxed only slightly when the voice shouted again, "Yes, you, brown tabby laying low."

Cautiously he rose again, barely snagging a yellow pelt among the heather. Greeneyes swallowed, rejuvenating his dry throat, and called back. "No, I'm Greeneyes of ThunderClan."

"Oh." As she meowed that, Greeneyes caught sight of her face. It was the annoying WindClan she-cat from the hunting patrol! Greeneyes growled a little. "Yellowglint of WindClan. Pleasure meeting you- ohh, wait a moment…"

Greeneyes rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm the mean tabby from the hunting patrol the other day."

"Oh," Yellowglint repeated. Then she went on bluntly, "Well, I don't really know you… so why are you in my dream?"

"Why are you in _my _dream?" Greeneyes demanded hotly. He lashed his tail and gazed around the moor they had settled on.

Yellowglint curled one lip. "It's a moor, genius, and I'm from WindClan, so I suspect this is my dream."

Before Greeneyes could retort, two new faces materialized from the brittle chartreuse grass. A pang hit Greeneyes as he recognized Yellowglint's friend and the silent black ShadowClan tom, both also from the hunting patrol.

"Yellowglint!" Bluepelt squealed, bursting forward to embrace the other female. Yellowglint licked her ear affectionately in turn.

The black ShadowClan tom flicked an ear at Greeneyes, just as blasé as before. It was the classic tom greeting, awkward and uncomfortable, though Greeneyes tried to trim off the edge a bit by giving a warm "hello" and dip of the head.

"So why are we all here?" Bluepelt asked once they had settled a bit among the long grass. One particularly bothersome strand tickled Greeneyes' nose, and much embarrassingly, he sneezed. Bluepelt and Yellowglint giggled. Blackfang, who had finally mumbled his name half-heartedly, smirked. Greeneyes wanly grinned back.

"Okay, so back to the subject," Yellowglint choked out around her chortles. _It wasn't really _that _funny. _"Why we're here. I bet we're all involved in some special mission of some sort. Wouldn't that be cool?"

"No, no, no!" whooped Bluepelt. "_I _think StarClan had summoned us four for a prophecy that will save the Clans!" _The Clans _can't _be saved, mouse-brain. If we've left the lake, it's too late._

Yellowglint turned to Blackfang. "What do you think?"

The quiet male shrugged.

Much to Greeneyes' horror, Bluepelt glanced at him. It was enough to make him know he was the next contributor to this pointless exchange.

"Er… I don't think this is anything extraordinary. StarClan'll probably just give one cat from each Clan, as in us four, a message for our leaders. We were chosen randomly, and that's all."

The dynamic duo, Yellowglint and Bluepelt, had been gazing at him with their mouths open excitedly. Now that Greeneyes was finished with his nonchalant reply, however, the ends of their lips curled down and they stared at him, clearly not impressed. Blackfang was nodding slowly in agreement with him.

"Well then, it looks like they're ready, Firestar. Let's go visit them now."

A voice, rough with age and arrogance, could be heard on the next incoming breeze. As moonlight dappled the field, Greeneyes searched his surroundings, puzzled.

Then they appeared. In the lead were a pair of cats that were so pale, their pelts seemed like weak breaths of stars. Behind them filed out about six cats, all very light-colored and transparent. Greeneyes sensed that these were real StarClan spirits, standing right _there _in front of him and the others.

"It is them," agreed a deep male voice. A gasp submerged from the living felines as a handsome flame-colored tom padded out from the glittering ranks. "It is I, Firestar, ancient leader of ThunderClan." He stepped closer to Greeneyes, who gawked, and dipped his head. "I understand you are a warrior of my Clan, Greeneyes. You make me very proud every day as I watch you. But do not let ambition destroy you. I know a certain cat who did, and it never ended well from him."

Greeneyes was astounded to see the great leader, the tomcat whose named had passed from tongue to tongue for generations, in the stories queens told kits, and the stories retold again by the elders to apprentices changing their moss, right there in front of him, _speaking _to him! It had been seasons upon seasons since Firestar's death, and still he remained a popular topic of conversation for his bravery. ThunderClan had been very strong under his wing, and after the end of Bluestar's shaky reign Firestar picked up the pieces she had left for him and worked hard to make his Clanmates safe. All this, and he had started out as a simple little kittypet.

"I- I'm honored to meet you, Firestar," Greeneyes stuttered. "I have admired you all my life. I truly am honored."

The ginger tom only smiled and returned to his original place beside a scraggly, ruffled dark gray she-cat bearing a pelt crisscrossed with scars. She released a raspy laugh and then flicked her deep amber gaze to address Greeneyes, Blackfang, Yellowglint, and Bluepelt.

"You may notice there is one thing you all have in common," she began. Her fangs flashed as she spoke, and one jutted out from under her upper lip prominently. Greeneyes racked his brain for her name. _It's something with –fang at the end, I know it. Um… _

"Huh?" Bluepelt asked stupidly. "We do?"

Somethingfang chuckled again. "It's your names. Yellow, Green, Blue, and Black. You each have a color at the beginning." She ducked her head. "As do Bluestar, Blackstar, and I."

The younger cats stared at her, dumbfounded.

She wrinkled her muzzle. "Yellowfang. I'm Yellowfang, a ShadowClan-turned-ThunderClan medicine cat. I didn't make it to see young Fireheart become leader, but I watched him rule for many moons from the safety of StarClan." Yellowfang looked to Firestar lovingly, as if he were her son. "I communicated with his grandson, Jayfeather, often as well."

A broad-shouldered tom with massive black paws shouldered Yellowfang aside a bit, and the elderly feline snarled in annoyance. "Anyway, we brought you to our skies to tell you that you four aren't any ordinary cats. We don't have much time left thanks to Firestar and Yellowfang's thrilling recollections, so I'll just inform you of this. Y-"

"Oh, Blackstar, please can I tell it?" A small tabby tom bounced forward, more excited than an apprentice at his warrior ceremony. "I want to have a place in this too."

"You already do," Blackstar grumbled. "Fine, Littlecloud. Just make it quick. I have a delicious lizard waiting for me back at the Big Oak and I don't want any sneaky apprentices stealing it."

Littlecloud let out a cry of glee and swiveled to face the four "colorful cats". "You four will be the ones that lead your Clans to another group of cats. From there, you will take off with the new group, and a new cat-"

"That's enough to tell them for now." A blue-gray she-cat with brilliant blue eyes cut in, dwarfing Littlecloud, who remained true to his name with his height. The tiny male shuffled backwards sullenly, staring at the bold female.

"I am Bluestar." Her crystal-clear eyes swept from each cat. "You will soon wake up and return to your Clans, but I want you to know of something first. A time of great hardships is coming for you during the journey. Loved ones will be lost, either to our ranks or to another. You must all be prepared for this difficult era, because there is no turning back."

**OoOoO**

Greeneyes roused with one thing on his mind: serving tirelessly for his Clan. But first came meeting up with Yellowglint, Blackfang, and Bluepelt. He hopped up and jumped over Tumblefoot and an irritated brown she-cat.

He found the two she-cats under the shelter of a rocky overhang. Blackfang was blinking open his eyes nearby, curled up against a tabby cat with a swollen belly. Greeneyes caught the ShadowClan warrior's eye, and in no time they were all gathered together under the overhang.

"I think we should designate this as our primary meeting place whenever we must gather," Greeneyes decided.

Blackfang and Bluepelt nodded; Yellowglint mewed, "I agree."

"So about the dream," the brown tabby went on. "We're obviously not any normal cats. I guess we should speak to our leaders about this…"

"And the medicine cats!" Bluepelt piped up suddenly.

"Maybe the deputies too-" Yellowglint started, but Greeneyes flattened his ears.

He sighed. "Okay, the leaders and medicine cats we'll talk to, and the deputies only if they want to come. But our higher ranks must know about this, because our group here is only a small fraction of all the Clans. If everyone else was oblivious about it, things would get confusing."

"So should we go meet with them now?" Blackfang uttered.

Greeneyes lifted his gaze and eyed the boulder pile. He quickly located all of the leaders' caves, and then meowed, "Yes, might as well get it over with. We should get them all in one location. But where?"

"Lightstar's den is pretty big," Bluepelt offered. "I'll go talk to him now, and then you three bring your leaders and such there."

**OoOoO**

"Ivystar and Brindlefur," Yellowglint began.

"Dovestar and Jaywing," added Greeneyes.

Bluepelt meowed solemnly, "Lightstar and Beetlewing."

Finally Blackfang went, his tone soft and mild, unlike that of most ShadowClan cats. "Slashstar and Tallpine."

"Stop saying our names like beebrains and get to the point," Slashstar spoke impatiently, his tail slashing to and fro over the cave floor. The dark tabby had always been known for his tail-slashing, so that was why his warrior name had been Slashtail.

"Sorry," Blackfang mumbled.

Greeneyes chose to take charge, since no one else seemed to step up. He faced the high end of the Clans' hierarchy and commenced the meeting. "Last night Yellowglint, Bluepelt, Blackfang, and I all found ourselves in a field somewhere in StarClan. Needless to say, we were shocked when we were greeted by ancient leaders, such as the ever-famous Firestar."

Dovestar's ears pricked. "Firestar, eh? Even _I've _never met him, and I was named after his nephew's legendary granddaughter, Dovewing."

"Wow, you have such close relations with him!" Lightstar exclaimed sarcastically from his plush, mossy nest.

The ThunderClan warrior let a rumble escape his throat, and the leaders shut up. "Anyway, we were told that we- Yellowglint, Bluepelt, Blackfang, me- would lead the Clans to another group of cats. From there, we'd take off with that group, and that was all some cat called Littlecloud was able to tell us."

Silence engulfed the cave. The leaders and medicine cats sat there, flabbergasted. Greeneyes felt a temporary stab of remorse for revealing this to them. _No, I must've done the right thing. Wouldn't StarClan cover the sun or something if I was doing wrong?_

"Well," Brindlefur said, clearing his throat. Unfortunately, it didn't clear the awkwardness. "Um, that's… interesting, um, Greeneyes. I suppose if you saw real StarClan spirits, then it wasn't a fictional dream."

Greeneyes was taken aback by even the mention of their dream being fake. "Excuse me? No, it was far from fictional. It was _real_, realer than real."

"Maybe you're just a bit tired," Ivystar suggested politely. "I've imagined things before when I'm exhausted."

Right away Greeneyes raised his hackles. "I am _not _making this up, you-"

"Hey, why don't you believe him?" Jaywing rose to her paws, dipping her head towards Greeneyes. She stared accusingly at Brindlefur next. "If you don't understand this, then you might as well leave. Were all your visits to the Moonpool ever since you were sworn as medicine cat apprentice meaningless to you? These cats had a dream, Brindlefur, and we better believe it because otherwise we're out of luck."

Beetlewing scuffled his paws on the ground. Small puffs of dust gathered around his brown paws, darkening them further.

Jaywing stared at him, a touch of exasperation entwined between her words. "You too, Beetlewing? What's so crazy about the dream?"

"Well… I mean, it's very rare for a cat, let alone four, to ever come in contact with Firestar in a dream. Usually it's more recently-dead cats; I mean, hasn't Firestar faded away?"

A collective gasp erupted from throughout the room. Tallpine leaped to her paws, green eyes huge. "Beetlewing, how dare you ask why Firestar hasn't faded away yet and still label yourself a medicine cat."

Soon after an argument blossomed between the leaders and medicine cats, while the four warriors backed carefully to the side. Greeneyes couldn't blame everyone for pounding Beetlewing, though; nowadays it was quite a crime to disrespect the great leader.

Bluepelt stuck her head out of the cave for a breath of fresh air that wasn't tainted with the mean insults spewing out from Slashstar's mouth at the moment. But then she gasped, and Greeneyes bounded to her side in an instant.

It was significantly darker than it originally had been when they entered with the high-rankers in tow. Greeneyes glanced up at the sky.

There was a cloud covering the sun.

* * *

**You: It's just nature..**

**Me: NO**

**You: Yes-**

**Me: NO**

**You: Yes it is-**

**Me: NO. AND YOU WILL FIND OUT WHY NEXT CHAPTER.**

**P.S. Sorry for long update wait! I took a break from writing cause of holidays n' all... btw happy new year's eve!**


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